Why trust building is so important?

 

If you look into any team success story, there you can visualize effective teamwork; where trust had its influence. Each member of the team must show trust, cultivate trust through his actions and words, and work to keep up. Each member must able to trust his team members with a commitment to work for the goals; trust emphasizes a phase to work competently with those goals and communicate consistently about any issues that affect the team.

There are very important 5 Cs in any team work and they are : 

1st 'C' - "Commitment" 

Commitment is an important part of trust. Every team member must commit to help teammates to meet the goals of the team -- irrespective of personal or professional obstacles present themselves. For example, a team member who has to take an extended amount of sick leave, must try to work from home as much as possible.  Team members should rely on one another to do their part of the team's work without fail. Each team member should aware of the harmful consequences of not following through on commitments.

2^nd  ‘C’ –“Competence”

Core competence is second biggest point in achieving success; whether it is for person or a team. Team members must trust that their teammates are competent enough to  complete the assigned tasks successfully.  For example, each team member must focus on an assigned task, without worrying about teammates following through, with their assigned tasks. Individual team members must realize when they need help and ask for it, instead of concealing their weaknesses among the group. When team members show vulnerability to their teammates, in response the  team mates help an efficient to complete the task. Hence trust will grow between them.

3^rd ‘C’- “Communication”

Meaningful consistent communication is necessary for a trusting relationship within a team. For example, if a team member finishes  assigned task early, he should communicate tell other team mates that his task is complete and he can help another member if necessary. Vital information such as a deadline change or a lack of resources, etc would be communicated in the team as soon as possible. People working within virtual teams,  need to make an effort to keep all members within the loop. Let us understand it with an example, a member of a team receives an information, he should send such information to all team members in time; If he doesn't it may result in delayed productivity. Message shared over a group-email or use of an online tool is necessary to communicate with every member. Team members who receive communication from other team members should always reciprocate to build trust.

4^th ‘C’- “Collaboration”

True collaboration takes place only when a sense of trust between team members established. 'Collaborate' means joint, collective, co-operation, teaming-up, etc. When team members collaborate, they share creative ideas without fear that another team member will take credit for their ideas. A team member who feels trusting team environment, might work more to bring up concerns that are relevant to the team's goals.  Collaborative and trusting team environment allows team members to share personal information within the team and develops a stronger bond with their teammates.

Final  Key Points

• Trust is an essential element in team productivity; Without it, you're unlikely to get anything meaningful done. But with it, teams can carry out everything they set out to do.
• It is important to a leader that he set himself as an example, showing  team members, demonstrating his trust in them, as well as in his colleagues.
• An effort be made to help everyone get to know each other on a personal level, encourage conversations, family values or hobbies  made by each team member. It also helps to discourage cliques, if you feel that they're damaging to the group's trust and morale.