“Trust each other again and again. When the trust level gets high enough, people transcend apparent limits, discovering new and awesome abilities for which they were previously unaware.”  – David Armistead

“Trust is the denominator of efficiency.” I heard this quote from a company leader that I worked with as we discussed the impact of trust on manager-employee relationships, relationships with customers, and efficiency between teams. Trust creates efficiency and this quote hits the nail on the head if considering all of the skills, behaviors and actions that make a team successful. In my experience working with thousands of team members, there is no chance of long-term team success if trust doesn’t exist. It’s the foundation of a healthy team.

Everyone knows that it’s not easy to build trust, but it’s very easy to destroy it. Trust is what creates a workplace where people hold themselves accountable, where information is shared freely and openly, silos are non-existent, and people are involved in designing their own jobs and creating systems to do their jobs to the best of their ability. It’s about caring about each other, encouraging constructive feedback, communicating with integrity, asking for what you need, and providing support even when it’s not your job.

Building trust is an inside job and starts with the leader setting the example, leading the way and building trustworthy habits into the team culture. Here are ten ideas you can use immediately to being building or repairing trust on your team:

1. Ask team members to share the personal vision they have for their role.
2. Managers act more as mentors and coaches rather than taskmasters.
3. Share and rotate leadership on the team depending on the task and level of expertise.
4. Make feedback on team progress ongoing and easily accessible to all.
5. Adjust meetings to create opportunities for open discussion, sharing of feedback and creative thinking.
6. Let people step up – when something needs to get done, share ideas with the team and then ask for voluntary participation to make it happen.
7. Encourage team members to share mistakes and lessons learned.
8. Use frameworks to support a quality process around important team tasks such as:
   • problem-solving
   • decision making
   • communication
   • team performance
   • onboarding and more
9. Build emotional intelligence – raise awareness around different needs and help members learn to adjust their approach and style accordingly.
10. Discuss and agree on what it would look like to appreciate one another, put others first, openly communicate and hold each other accountable.

As you review this list consider if you have a healthy team culture and what shifts need to happen to create an atmosphere of trust.  Focus on one idea listed in this article each month to improve the level of trust on your team and expect amazing results.

If you’re looking for sustainable solutions to build trust across your entire organization, join us in Boulder on April 27 and 28^th to get DISC Certified. For more information and to save your spot, visit our Everything DiSC Certification Workshops registration page. And watch this short video by Tara Powers, CEO of Powers Resource Center to learn more about the DISC tool.