Absence of Trust

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hello, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:05 Let's look at the first of the five team dysfunctions, absence of trust.
• 00:10 I'll begin by describing trust within a team.
• 00:15 One indication is that team members have confidence that the other team members'
• 00:19 intentions are good.
• 00:20 They're working for team success, not personal glory.
• 00:24 Another indication is that they are willing to be vulnerable with each other.
• 00:28 By that I mean that they acknowledge that they are not perfect.
• 00:31 They make mistakes, they have weaknesses and shortcomings,
• 00:34 and sometimes they have to ask for help.
• 00:36 Not everyone on the team will normally be able to recognize these vulnerabilities,
• 00:40 but team members don't pretend that they don't exist.
• 00:43 They acknowledge them and work through them.
• 00:46 Another point about vulnerabilities,
• 00:48 team members do not use them against each other.
• 00:51 They are not points of ridicule, they are areas that are supported.
• 00:56 To bring this dysfunction of absence of trust into sharper clarity,
• 01:00 let me contrast the presence of trust and
• 01:02 the absence of trust in terms of team characteristics.
• 01:06 When trust is present team members admit weaknesses and mistakes and
• 01:10 are ready to ask for help.
• 01:11 In fact, they're willing to leverage the abilities and
• 01:13 skills of other team members to improve team performance.
• 01:17 Team members will take risks, and whether the risks will work out or not,
• 01:20 they will seek and accept feedback about the situation.
• 01:24 They give each other the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions.
• 01:28 They accept input about their areas of responsibilities and
• 01:31 are willing to answer questions without taking offence.
• 01:34 The focus of their time and energy on the team Is team performance and
• 01:38 issues, not team gossip and politics.
• 01:42 To that end, they are ready to book offer and
• 01:44 accept apologies if they've offended someone on the team.
• 01:47 Because of their positive engagement with the team,
• 01:50 they look forward to team meetings as productive and energizing events.
• 01:55 Now let's contrast that list with the list associated with the absence of
• 01:58 trust on a team.
• 01:59 When there is no trust, team members feel they must protect themselves.
• 02:03 Therefore, they conceal any weaknesses or mistakes.
• 02:06 They don't ask for help or offer help because that could make them vulnerable.
• 02:10 They don't offer any positive or
• 02:12 constructive feedback because they know it will either be rejected or misinterpreted.
• 02:16 A sort of paranoia sets in, and
• 02:18 everyone jumps to conclusions about the intentions of others.
• 02:22 But keep in mind that team members are looking out for themselves,
• 02:25 not the team, so this paranoia is justified.
• 02:29 Because of the self-centered focus, the team members do not leverage the skills or
• 02:33 abilities of other team members.
• 02:35 Instead, they're often interacting in a way to bring glory and credit for
• 02:39 themselves.
• 02:39 They are trying to create some effect that highlights how great they are.
• 02:44 The selfish behavior results in numerous offenses,
• 02:46 and team members are quick to hold grudges for these.
• 02:49 They have totally lost sight of team goals.
• 02:52 And avoid team meeting unless there is a possibility for them to gain glory or
• 02:56 recognition at the meeting.
• 02:58 Well obviously the picture I painted about the absence of trust is not good.
• 03:03 So what can be done to overcome this problem?
• 03:06 First, let's acknowledge some of the things that are needed to build trust.
• 03:10 It will take time and positive interactions to create trust.
• 03:13 You won't trust someone that you don't know.
• 03:16 These interactions are more powerful for
• 03:18 building trust when there are shared experiences.
• 03:21 That is one of the reasons why many organizations will take a team
• 03:24 off site for team building activities.
• 03:26 To create a common set of experiences that can be used as a springboard for
• 03:31 building trust.
• 03:33 Further, it’s very helpful for
• 03:34 team members to see each others' unique strength and abilities.
• 03:38 These unique abilities can help each person be special and
• 03:40 different while still being in the team.
• 03:43 They're not competing against each other, they're complementing each other.
• 03:47 Some of the tools that I've used over the years to build trust
• 03:50 include personal histories where everyone shares stories from their background.
• 03:54 This will help to find bonds of affinity and a better appreciation for differences.
• 03:58 Another technique is team effectiveness evaluations where each member’s
• 04:02 contribution is better understood.
• 04:04 Of course, there are the personality tests, like Myers Briggs or DISC.
• 04:08 They help team members understand why some people act the way they do and
• 04:12 that it is actually a good thing for some individuals to be different.
• 04:15 360 degree feedback has recently been very popular.
• 04:19 This is where an individual gets feedback on their performance, both technically and
• 04:23 as a team member, from their boss, their peers, and
• 04:27 their direct reports, if they have any.
• 04:29 This is a great way for team members to get and receive feedback.
• 04:33 And of course, as already mentioned,
• 04:35 there are the group experiential team building sessions.
• 04:38 Teams that lack trust will quickly spiral down into defensive,
• 04:43 paranoid behavior and poor performance.
• 04:47 Fortunately, there are number of ways to begin building trust.
• 04:51 When this is your team's dysfunction, start using some of those tools.

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