What does trust really mean in a team?
"A team needs trust in order to achieve its goals."
"If there is trust in the team, we can go anywhere."
We often hear these statements. But what do they actually mean?
Trust is generally considered a key ingredient for effective teamwork.
But what does it really mean to have TRUST in a team? How can we tell whether there’s too little or a lot?
When we talk about trust, we could be referring to:
I can count on you to deliver.
There is honesty, transparency, clarity.
I can rely on your knowledge and experience to get something done.
You will listen if I need to talk.
I can count on your support.
There's good energy; we get along.
I feel safe voicing opinions that go against the majority.
People take initiative and own their responsibilities.
And the contrasts go deeper:
One person may associate trust with logic and emotional detachment and another may need emotional awareness and empathy.
Reflective people may look for meaning in their work, while others trust more in clear goals and decisive action.
Some will test leaders to see their strength and others simply want space to lead themselves.
The key is to realise that everyone will hold different (and often opposing) answers to the question “What does trust mean to you?”
It’s one thing to understand what trust means for you; it’s another to recognise that it might mean something entirely different for someone else.
That’s why the real question for teams is not “Do we have trust?” but rather:
How do we create a shared understanding of what trust means here?
How do we want to develop that trust as a team?
Because only when a team makes trust explicit, in a way that honours different needs, does it become a foundation for high performance.
If your leadership team wants to build trust in a way that is specific, systemic, and actionable, let’s have a conversation.
This is what it means to Win Wisely.
Dino