Trust in High Performing Teams

I'll start by saying that this article is not endorsing Gordon's or any other brand of gin (note I'm holding a beer) and I always recommend the responsible consumption of alcohol.

I smile though every time I see this photo because I think of the people I get to work and play with.

Which makes me think about trust at work and how it impacts a teams performance.

To me, there are two types of trust that need to be present to have a high performing team, both personal and professional trust.

I see personal trust as knowing that someone will do what they say that they are going to do. That they can be relied upon. That I know who they are.

Then in my opinion, professional trust is how we view an individuals capability to perform their role. That they have knowledge and technical skill. That I know what they can do.

I often see situations where one is present without the other. When that occurs within a team, I feel that the team will lack cohesion and fail to reach it's full potential.

For a team to perform at their best, trust needs to be formed at both levels. We need to know that the individuals we rely upon will support us and that they have the capability to do their job.

I'm going to use an example of my colleague Kirsty Arkulisz . Kirsty and I have worked together for nine years now. I know that if I hand something to Kirsty that I can cross it off my list. She will take complete ownership of that task and will let me know if she either needs further information or that she will let me know once the job is done. That trust enables me to then move along onto the next piece of work knowing that I don't have to follow up or check in on her.

I trust Kirsty on two levels. I trust her personally because I know who she is as a person and that she shares my values on servant leadership and customer care. I trust her professionally because I know what she can do and that if she doesn't know how to do something she will tell me. So, I trust her implicitly and she in return. I'm fortunate to have many people around me at Centrepoint Alliance who I feel the same way about.

When one of those forms of trust is lost in a team, then performance suffers. Symptoms of that lack of trust in a team are:

• You're not confident that a deadline will be met.
• You feel the need to check in on the progress of work.
• You feel the need to thoroughly check the quality of the work.
• You find it easier to perform the task yourself.

When you're experiencing those symptoms you need to establish where the lack of trust lies, is it personally or professionally.

Personal trust can be enhanced by getting to know each other better. That always comes down to the willingness of both parties to be open and to share of themselves. That's why team building and work socialisation can be so important in building a high performing team. I enjoy running personality profiling workshops with teams to help them to understand each other better.

I look at the photo above and the connection I have with those people, there's personal trust there.

Professional trust is gained by not only showing your competence, but by also being honest about the extent of your capabilities. Don't pretend to be something you're not. I can have professional trust in someone in their first week on the job if they are open with me about their capabilities and if I know that they will put their hand up when they don't understand something.

When you're evaluating your teams performance, look at both of those aspects. If you're seeing the symptoms above then that may mean that your team needs a trust tune up.