What Happens When Trust is Missing?

“Trust lies at the heart of a functioning, cohesive team. Without it, teamwork is all but impossible.”
Patrick Lencioni, Author, The FIVE Dysfunctions of a TEAM.

How effective is your team? Does your team trust one another? According to Lencioni, Trusting Teams:

  • Admit weaknesses and mistakes
  • Ask for help
  • Accept questions and input in their area of responsibility
  • Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion
  • Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
  • Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
  • Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics
  • Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
  • Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group

When you look at this list, how do you and your team stack up in the area of trust?
Do you do these things or do you have opposite behaviors; such as, concealing mistakes, withholding feedback, holding grudges, jumping to conclusions or dreading time together? If so, it’s time to work on TRUST! You may be thinking that some of these things are uncomfortable to do. This is because, to have trust and perform in these ways, you have to be comfortable being vulnerable with one another. The team needs to be confident that their peers’ intentions are good and there is no reason to be protective and careful around the group. You have to be OK with being vulnerable with short comings such as, weaknesses, skill deficiencies, interpersonal skills, mistakes and asking for help. This is hard because we have learned to be competitive and protective of our reputations. This needs to be turned off for the good of the team in order to set a foundation of trust for a highly functioning and cohesive team.

Obviously, this takes some work. This is where a focused approach of instances of follow-through and credibility, shared experiences, team building activities and open conversations will all help you set this foundation of trust. It takes time. It doesn’t just magically happen overnight. Start by looking at this list with your team and commit to being intentional about taking on these qualities. If you need help with a team workshop or coaching, contact me Lois@LoisCarson.com.