Cultivate Trust For Healthy Projects

A THOUGHT FROM JENNIFER

At Way Forth, we’re passionate about healthy projects, because healthy projects are more likely to be successful ones. And, we believe projects can only be healthy if people come first. We strongly believe that people matter, and how we work is rooted in that belief.

That’s why one of our core values is Trust. We build this core value into how our team interacts with each other and how we work with clients because trustful teams are happier, healthier, and more engaged. Without trust work is cumbersome, disjointed, time-consuming, and, honestly, life sucking.?

Trust is strongly linked to efficiency, too! When a team lacks trust, its members are suspicious of each others’ integrity, motives, and capabilities.

But when trust prevails—it’s a whole different ball game, right? It’s safe to make mistakes and speak honestly, and people don’t waste time operating with a defensive mindset. They Get. Stuff. Done!

If you build trust into your culture when things are going smoothly, it will help you stay on course when times are tough.

Here are some practical ways to cultivate and grow trust on your team:

• Hire people you trust, then trust the people you hire.
• Say what you mean and mean what you say. (Think: “speak the truth in love” ??)
• Communicate proactively—both good news and bad.
• Praise team members publicly; correct them privately.
• Say “I’m sorry” when you mess up.
• Find ways to collaborate on a project. Trust and rapport grow much faster and have more longevity when teammates have a shared experience—creating something new together. This is huge especially for remote teams!

Cultivating trust on your team isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a MUST! Trust sets the foundation for happier team members, enhanced team cohesion, increased efficiency, and ultimately—healthy projects. And healthy projects are more likely to be successful projects!?

On the journey with you,

Jennifer Hamel, PMP

POINT TO PONDER

Are there pockets of distrust on your team or in your organization?

If so, what would have to be true to build or grow a culture of trust?

What could you do or advocate for to see those changes happen?

WORK SMARTER

Save Time + Minimize Mistakes

By Carolyn Wildermuth , Communications Director

Finding a common meeting time for a group of people is no fun. And when you add the complexity of a globally dispersed group, it’s easy to get tripped up.

That’s why I use World Time Buddy. It’s a free world clock time converter that lets you compare multiple time zones at a glance.

World Time Buddy saves me time and frustration, because I don't need to mentally decode the times. Better yet, it drastically reduces my decoding mistakes.

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

BRAIN BREAK

Power Up with a Power Nap

By Carolyn Wildermuth , Communications Director

Feeling the effects of last night’s lack of sleep? Work a power nap into your day! A 10-20 minute nap might be just what you need to:

• Relieve your fatigue
• Restore your focus and alertness, and
• Boost your mood.

Just make sure you don’t overdo it, or you’ll wake up feeling groggy.

Here’s how to keep it short:

• Go to a quiet room (or your car) and turn off your notifications.
• Cover your eyes and stay seated rather than lying down (in other words, don't get TOO comfortable).
• Set a timer for 10-20 minutes.

When your alarm goes off—Wake up! Power restored!

Have a question or a topic suggestion? We'd love to hear from you!

Your friends and fans,

Way Forth Collective

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