Hey there! I trust you are having a great day!
Speaking of trust (see what I did there?), it’s one of the most critical components of a high-performing team. As leaders, our top responsibility is to build and nurture it. Consistency, follow-through, and daily commitment are vital to your success as a leader and your team’s success.
Every week, I talk with someone about a workplace challenge where broken or nonexistent trust is the root cause. It’s the foundation of every high-performing leader and team, yet it feels elusive. Trust is like building a sandcastle—one wave can wipe it out, and you can’t rebuild it with just one action. But, it’s worth prioritizing every day because it’s THAT important.
In fact, a study in Harvard Business Review found that people at companies with high trust report 50% higher productivity, 74% less stress, and 106% more energy at work. What leader wouldn’t want to lead a team of high performers, undistracted by unnecessary stress, with a ton of energy?
So, what can you do to establish, rebuild, or restore trust? Here are a couple of ideas to get started:
1. Be accountable. Do what you say you’ll do.
2. Communicate clearly and openly. Share what’s going on, organizational changes (when appropriate), and give feedback often.
3. Be honest. Your team knows you don’t have all the answers, so don’t pretend. When you're open, they’ll be too.
4. Listen. Ask your team about trust—what builds or breaks it—and then act on their feedback.
5. Be vulnerable. Yep, admitting that you don’t know everything is hard—but remember, you’re not Google. Sharing your challenges and mistakes helps your team feel safe doing the same.
6. Stay trustworthy. Don’t share information that’s not yours to share.
7. Model. Show your team what it means to be trustworthy by extending trust to them.
You don’t need big team retreats to build trust (though they can be fun). Trust grows in the small moments—when you’re present, you listen, and you show genuine interest in your team. Even a five-minute, undistracted conversation can build more trust than you think.
Want an idea to really jump-start your team? Larnzell Harper, Jr., a thought leader and senior consultant with Insight Strategies, Inc., shares a great exercise he uses in development workshops that helps teams reflect on trust.
MVP - Most Valuable Practice Activity
Directions:
Call a team meeting and share with the team why trust is important to you and for the team's success.
Let the team know that their input is really important and you want to hear their ideas.
Ask questions to solicit ideas and input from the team.
"What can we do to build trust between our team?"
"What could break trust between us?"
"What can I do support our efforts to build a high-trust team?"
Listen. Ask clarifying questions, as needed, but really try to let the team do most of the talking.
During last 15-20 minutes of the meeting, ask everyone to reflect on all of the ideas and think about the most valuable practices shared.
Write "MVP" at the top of a flip chart or whiteboard.
Ask everyone to write their most valuable takeaways from the discussion.
After everyone has contributed, have them share their thoughts.
Celebrate the great ideas, thank them for contributing all of their great ideas, and invite them to join you in adopting the Most Valuable Practices.
This exercise helps identify specific practices that will work best for your team, reinforces your commitment to building trust, and gets the team's buy-in to be a part of fostering a high-trust culture. Big thanks to Larnzell for this excellent tip! Follow him on LinkedIn for more wisdom from him!
Bottom Line: Teams with high trust move mountains. Your efforts to build trust are some of the most important things you’ll do as a leader. Now, go do it!
And after you do, let me know the results!
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