{"id":1245,"date":"2019-01-15T00:38:25","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T00:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyourteam.com\/blog\/?p=1245"},"modified":"2024-07-12T12:44:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T19:44:42","slug":"building-trust-in-teams-what-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2019\/01\/15\/building-trust-in-teams-what-and-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Building trust in teams: What and why?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you build trust in a team? First, let’s understand what trust really is and why it matters.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Who do you trust?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first people who likely came to mind were your partner, your family, and your friends (hopefully).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about your boss? Your coworker? It\u2019s harder to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2016 study conducted by Edelman surveyed<\/a> 33,000 people in 28 countries. From it, they discovered: One in three people don\u2019t trust their employer. And only 24% of employees in this study believe their CEO exhibited highly ethical behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our own Canopy<\/a> survey this past year of 597 managers and employees, we found that folks were slightly more trustful of one another: About 8% of employees said they rarely or never trust their manager. That\u2019s almost 1 in 10 employees not trusting their manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why defining trust matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whether 1 in 3 employees or 1 in 10 employees don\u2019t trust their managers\u200a\u2014\u200aboth are significant occurrences. Especially given the amount of time we interact with our coworkers, and the projects and outcomes that are on the line, it\u2019s startling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are we really spending all this time with people we don\u2019t trust? Should we be doing anything about this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To answer those questions, we first have to define \u201ctrust\u201d clearly. Misconstrue what trust actually is, and you spend time on the wrong things. Get it right, and building trust gets easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What trust is NOT: Likability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We often equate trust with likability<\/a>. We think, \u201cThis is a nice person\u201d or \u201cThis is the kind of person I\u2019d want to hang out with on weekends\u201d\u2026 So we trust them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, that\u2019s only part of the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider someone in your company you don\u2019t trust. You might like her. She\u2019s affable, genuine and definitely tries her best. But trusting her with a high-profile project? You hesitate\u200a\u2014\u200ashe hasn\u2019t shown the track record you need to feel confident. You don\u2019t give her the big project because, honestly, you just don\u2019t trust her enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you want someone to trust you, it\u2019s not enough that they like you. It\u2019s not enough that they think you have good intentions. They\u2019ve got to think you\u2019re capable. They\u2019ve got to think you have what it takes to prove something through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might think someone is a good person\u200a\u2014\u200abut you don\u2019t trust them to actually get the work done. You need both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an important distinction because many leaders accidentally optimize for likability as a means to build trust. They try to \u201cbe friends\u201d with their direct reports, thinking it\u2019ll mean their team will trust them more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we can internalize that trust is not likability, it causes us to not fall into the trap of trying to please everyone around us. If we want to build trust, there\u2019s something deeper we have to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So then, if trust isn\u2019t likability, what is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What trust IS: Intentions + Behavior<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a 1998 paper<\/a>, Denise M. Rousseau suggested this definition of trust: \u201cA psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behavior of another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, trust is two things: Intentions and Behavior. It\u2019s people\u2019s perception of who you are and their expectation of what you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 4 Cores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stephen M.R. Covey defines trust in his popular book, \u201cSpeed of Trust,\u201d<\/a> similarly to Rousseau. To Covey, trust is the belief in who the person is, and a belief in their abilities\u200a\u2014\u200aa person\u2019s \u201cCharacter\u201d and their \u201cCapabilities.\u201d Covey then further breaks down trust into what he calls \u201cFour Cores\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n