Without trust there is no relationship, without relationships there is no cooperation, without cooperation there are no teams, without teams there is no synergy, without synergy there is no competitive advantage, and without competitive advantage there is no business. Yes – trust in the boss, trust in colleagues and trust within the team are the foundation of modern business. Some even talk about management by trust. A lack of trust deprives us of many chances: to be noticed, to have our potential appreciated and to be given free rein to use our talent.
Unfortunately, many of us were never taught how to build trust. But there is good news: it can be learned, and you can change your pattern of behaviour. There are effective ways to build trust in a team.
It is worth looking at the process of building trust at work and at what trust actually is.
When we say “I trust you”, we are saying that:
we feel safe in contact with the person;
we can predict how the person will behave in particular situations;
we believe their assurances.
Trust plays a key role in communication at work and is a component of good interactions. It is the basis for friendships to form. It is sad to read that today we have a problem with trust at work and that people trust each other less than they did a few decades ago. It is not clear whether the cause is the breakdown of social bonds caused by the great changeability of the world we live in – there may be many reasons.
And why is it worth building and developing trust?
Our experiences with others are more positive.
We are more productive.
We experience less stress.
We allow ourselves and others to work in our own way.
We experiment more boldly when learning.
We form a well-coordinated team with others.
We are more inclined to build a supportive community.
Trust is not a one-dimensional slogan. It has at least two dimensions:
Practical trust
This is usually the trust that comes to mind when we think about trusting someone. We earn it by being punctual, reliable in carrying out our duties and meeting deadlines.
When we gain this trust, we also gain a reputation as competent and dependable. If we don’t gain this kind of trust, others try to direct and correct us.
Emotional trust
We often don’t even know this dimension of trust exists, yet we build it when we go beyond ourselves. We build emotional trust when we do more than is expected of us. Emotional trust requires well-developed emotional intelligence. It is precisely this skill that is most sought after in managers.
Even one of the famous questions in Gallup’s Q12 engagement survey asks: “Do I have a best friend at work?”. This shows that strong bonds at work serve to build a good team.
This kind of trust-building is not a skill and a set of behaviours, as with practical trust. It is an art worth practising and perfecting throughout your life.
Each of these dimensions develops in different ways. Both are important and work synergistically.
