Performance and Trust

Part 1 - I don’t trust you!

What makes a team high performing? What makes a team perform so effectively? What makes a team hit above target? Could it be individual expertise? Or experience?

Yes, expertise and experience are vital components of a high performing team but I believe these are just muscles that can be flexed if the heart is still beating. It really comes down to the trust among your team members. In the early stages of team formation, it is vital that the team lead gains the trust of the members. This is because in most cases team member may not have worked together before and do not know each other on a personal level enough to trust themselves. The first person they look up to is the team lead. They will gauge your personality and ability to lead and direct. Most importantly, they will gauge how much you can bear the pressure. This is just a way for them to access how safe they are working with you. As a team lead, you must not at this stage lean towards any member. They must see you as impartial. Impartiality, having a listening ear, protecting the team from angry superiors are some of the qualities needed to gain the trust of your team members. They need to know you will do what is right for them; they need to know you will not throw them out to the wolves when the going gets tough. Once you have gained their trust, loyalty comes along.

Easy right? Not so fast. It is better if as a team lead you are the most senior professionally; you have an advantage then. Nevertheless, this is rarely the case. It is a lot tougher when dealing with people who are ahead of you in experience and expertise. Getting them to trust that you can make the best decisions is no easy feat.

Next step is getting them to trust themselves. This is a little beyond your influence as the team lead and I will tell you why in part 2 of this series – Performance and Trust.

Have you led a team before? I will be happy to learn from your insights in the comments section.