As your team begins to work together, you need to establish a way for each team member to exchange ideas and build mutual trust. Successful groups are built on trust and collaboration. A free exchange of ideas, in an open environment, will allow your team to get to know each other and allow you to check how they are working together. Learn some tips to help build team trust and make personal connections.
Setting up a series of informal meetings at the start of your project provides an ideal opportunity for exploration of team members. Like other teams, your people will most likely progress through several predictable stages of team building and help them bond with one another as they transition from strangers to forming a cohesive team. Use this time to discuss your project, delegate particular tasks, define individual roles and discuss goals. Always make sure everyone involved understands every step of their involvement.
Use the following six-step approach to cultivate an environment of trust within your team:
1. Trust your employees
Employees will never work to their full potential if they don’t feel trustworthy from management. Trust the intentions of your people to do the right thing. Employees who feel trustworthy perform better and go the extra mile, going above and beyond the expectations of their role. Trust that they want to make the right decision and make choices that, to the best of their understanding, are the best and might still work. Trusted employees feel more valued, which will help them feel more engaged in their work.
2. Reward desired behavior
Reward desired behavior by letting your team know that they will be rewarded for a job well done and supported if they run into difficulties. Make sure your team feels valued. Interact frequently and give yourself opportunities to let your team know that a job is well done. Or they will be supported and guided to do the course correctly if necessary. With positive reinforcement, you add a positive reward when someone exhibits the desired behavior. As part of the team, make sure you are trustworthy and establish your credibility. Be trustworthy. Always try to accomplish what you say, do it on time and without any excuses.
3. Learn from your mistakes
Typically, we all start our career as a member of a work team and gradually move into a team leader role at some point in our career. Learn from your mistakes and let people learn from their mistakes. Establish a culture where people who take action and make a mistake will be viewed positively in your self-help organization. Punished learners do not learn the new skill; Instead, they learn to avoid the person who punished them by taking fewer risks. Mistakes help people learn to become independent
Most of the organizations we work for today have certainly moved from previous traditional ways of working (such as hierarchical organizations or function-oriented organizations) to matrix organizations where the relevance of team-based approaches has gained even more importance. The biggest challenge leaders face when working with such structures is how, as team leaders, provide employee leadership and begin to share their responsibilities with team members in order to maximize creativity and productivity. Delegation and trust in someone to do a job are also enhanced. Show trust in others so they can trust you. Always remember that trust goes both ways.
Once you’ve held people accountable, hold others accountable and set expectations as soon as possible. Be responsible in all your actions. Remember there is no true glory without responsibility. Take the opportunity to clarify the expected behaviors of each member of the team. Use your team charter to better understand the team’s goals. Each person should clearly understand the goals of the group and should know how these fit with the overall goals of your organization. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) linking your team’s tasks to your organization’s goal and objectives and use these indicators to start managing performance. Team members need to be clear about the definitions of these KPIs and need to understand how they directly affect them so that they understand their deliverables and how they will be measured. Provide all materials and equipment needed to do the job effectively.
One of the most important roles you play as a team leader is keeping individuals motivated and energized to keep working for organizational goals. Regular feedback helps employees direct their attention and energy effectively, helps them avoid major mistakes and dead ends, and prevents them from learning things that they will later have to unlearn at great expense. Try to adapt your efforts according to the different needs of each individual (refer to the situational leadership model). Building effective teams is an ongoing process – keep reviewing each step of this process regularly.