So what is trust?
We understand trust to be a belief that something or someone is safe and reliable. These notions of safety and reliability lend themselves to the broader sentiment of vulnerability. To refer to vulnerability we must of course turn to Brene Brown, the queen of vulnerability and leadership. In a podcast interview with Charles Feltman she seeks his insights on building, maintaining and restoring trust. Feltman says ‘… [trust is] choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person’s actions.
The two agree that at work, people should experience ‘a good healthy measure of love and joy’, noting that trust plays a large role in achieving that.
The conversation between Brown and Feltman is interesting as they identify that trust is not all or nothing. Essentially, trust can be seen as the sum of several parts. For example, you may have a staff member who you don’t trust to deliver what they said they would deliver on time. However, you can still trust their integrity as their ability to deliver doesn’t speak to their integrity. But what does need investigating is the staff members’ competence. Feltman defines this as assessments of trust, rather than one big ball of distrust which immediately dismisses a whole person, you can compartmentalise the skills and abilities of an individual and break down the attributes you do value and subsequently trust.
Trusted leadership
Turning to trusted leadership, a lot of our work in the public sector looks at the behaviours of senior leaders. In large institutions, like the public service, all staff are governed by an overarching set of values and codes. The purpose and role of senior leaders is defined using words like empower, respect and integrity.
HBRs article, The Four Keys to Being a Trusted Leader, suggests that trust can only happen when someone (i.e. leaders) is seen acting selflessly. ‘People in an organisation perceive selflessness when a leader concerns him or herself with their safety; performs valuable service for them; and makes personal sacrifice for their benefit.
So how do modern day leaders stack up to providing safety, service, and sacrifice in the workplace?
Troubled Teams
When looking at the composition of a team, it is hard to go by the work of organizational health expert Patrick Lencioni and his book ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Leadership Fable’. He suggests that teams fall prey to 5 basic dysfunctions or problems, noting these are inherent to all teams, and each dysfunction needs to be addressed to ensure the team is functioning at its highest level. The five dysfunctions are:
Absence of trust
Fear of conflict
Lack of commitment
Avoiding accountability
Inattention to results
Probably one of the key takeaways from this concept is that each dysfunction leads into the next; think of it as a set of dominos – if one falls, the others follow. Lencioni believes that to create trusting teams and an organisation that values trust, you need to be vulnerable. It’s the idea of bringing your true authentic self to work, sharing who you are and your life experiences with your colleagues so you can build moments and stories of connection. This notion of storytelling is particularly important for senior leaders, to help them build trust and respect with their teams. Sharing a story or experience will help staff relate to and potentially increase trust in their people managers, as well as build trust with the organisation more broadly.
You can unpack more of Lencioni’s dysfunctional teams theory by listening to The People Leaders Podcast, hosted by Jan and Michelle Terkelsen.
Team psychological safety
Psychological safety is critical for teams and team leaders; it refers to a shared belief held by members of team that it’s alright to take risks, to express individual ideas and concerns, to ask questions, and (most importantly) to admit mistakes (HBR online, Feb 2023). Not surprisingly, psychological safety fosters a communal sense of motivation, enablement, empowerment, and confidence in a team.
Teams that are not psychologically safe are riddled with a sense of anxiety and rigidity. You will often find them to be areas where creativity isn’t an option, new ideas are not invited, and conformity is key.
To foster and support psychological safety, people managers are encouraged to be vulnerable (surprise, surprise!) Amy Edmonson, coined the phrase psychological safety and suggests three key activities to employ when building psychological safety:
Make it clear why staff voices matter – it’s important to make staff feel like their input is not only valuable, but that it will be considered in the decision-making process.
Admit your own fallibility – Leaders should always admit to their own mistakes and what they learned from the experience. Leaders should also be quick to jump in and defend their teams and take responsibility for any mistakes made by their staff.
Actively invite input – Don’t rest on your laurels and expect people to come to you with ideas or feedback, instead people managers and leaders should seek answers from staff by asking open ended questions.
Respond productively – now this can be a tricky one to handle. In receiving feedback, people managers need to remain neutral and not defensive. Feedback is an important tool and allows for growth and opportunity. It is important to acknowledge feedback and where you don’t understand the feedback, ask questions, so that you can better support your team.
Trust is a glaring issue in many workplaces, and much like a relationship with a friend or a partner, it can only survive through moments of connection and vulnerability. At MYS we pride ourselves on working with teams to support them in building, maintaining and in some instances reinvigorating their team camaraderie. We know how hard it can be to be vulnerable in a disconnected team. Hopefully some of the information in this blog will provide some insight into team dynamics and the importance of trust at work.
What are some of the things you have done to rebuild your trust in the workplace or helped to build back trust in a team?