A team is not a group of people that work together...A team is a group of people that trust each other
What is the difference between a team, a group and just a bunch of people?
Teams are described as having a shared identity; being reliant on one-another; including multiple relationships and having a shared task to achieve. So, if a collection of people does not identify themselves as a unit and others don’t either; if they don’t depend on each other and there is minimal relationship; and if they don’t share a common goal then they’re just a bunch!
A team’s success is dependent on their ability to work together. So what is teamwork? At its most basic – teamwork is a sense of unity. It is an enthusiasm shared by a group of people to pursue their common interests and responsibilities. It is a bonding agent that brings people together; motivates them to rely on one-another to get things done; and allows the group to overcome obstacles that may have frustrated an individual. Teamwork provides competence, efficiency and great learning opportunities for everyone. Teamwork promotes workplace synergy, the concept that the effect of the whole is greater than the simple sum of the parts. In a nutshell teamwork is when a group of people work together cohesively, towards a common goal, creating a positive working atmosphere, and supporting each other to combine individual strengths to enhance team performance.
The ability to concurrently perform as an individual and together with your colleagues and employees in effective teamwork is a key to achieving growth and success. Teamwork is important and essential in order to achieve the overall aims and goals of an organisation.
A question that resonates with many leaders in the community sector is how do we strengthen and build our teams? This is especially challenging when our focus is often on those we serve and the work we do, and we have limited resources or time to dedicate to developing our teams. So what can we do to mobilise our teams and make a real difference to the way we achieve our purpose?
Over the past several decades, numerous authors have written about the importance of trust as an essential aspect of high performing teams. Patrick Lencioni describes the absence of trust as the foundation of the five common dysfunctions in poorly performing teams. Megan Tschannen-Moran suggests that trust is a glue that holds things together, as well as the lubricant that reduces friction and facilitates smooth operation.
In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen R Covey argues that trust is not some soft, unreal quality that you either have or you don’t; but rather trust is practical, demonstrable, an actionable asset that you can create. He suggests that we must learn to interact with others in ways that increase trust and avoid interacting in ways that destroy trust. When there is high trust within an organisation there are significant benefits through enhanced growth, greater innovation, better collaboration, stronger partnering, and heightened loyalty.
Building trust means building confidence in your team and one another. No trust, results in suspicion, distrust and ultimately a team that doesn’t perform. We may see the impact of the presence or absence of trust in the communication between individuals and within the group. Where there are high levels of trust, you can say the wrong thing to someone, and they are more likely to be forgiving and generous in their reaction. In a relationship with low levels of trust, everything you say leaves room for misinterpretation in the ears and the mind of the receiver and offence may be easily taken.
“Trust is essentially the predictive understanding of another's behaviour. The link between trust and psychological safety is based on my prediction of your behaviour based on your pattern of behaviour. If I can predict that you won't embarrass, punish, or humiliate me when I'm interacting with you and others in a social setting, I'm much more likely to engage, participate, and release my discretionary efforts. If I don't trust that you will keep me safe, that lack of trust will trigger my self-censoring instinct and I'll play it safe and manage my own personal risk.”
Timothy R. Clark, CEO of LeaderFactor
Through his research, Covey identified thirteen behaviours that are common to high-trust leaders and people throughout the world. All 13 behaviours are a combination of character and competence. Covey says “Character is what we are; competence is what we can do. The reality is that character and competence drive everything else in the organisation.”
Several years ago I made a poster of the 13 Behaviours for my office wall, I cannot recall where the descriptions came from so apologise if the words are not mine. While the title focuses on leaders, fostering these behaviours in all team members (and in the culture of the organisation) can only be positive in my opinion.
The 13 Behaviours of High-Trust Leaders
Character
1. Talk Straight – tell the truth in a way that leaves a person’s dignity and your integrity intact. Remember honesty without respect equals brutality. Don’t spin the truth or leave false impressions because you care more about avoiding discomfort than acting in someone’s best interests.
2. Demonstrate Respect – behave in ways that demonstrate genuine care and concern for others. Don’t confuse respect for liking. You don’t have to like someone to treat them with kindness, courtesy and with respect for their dignity.
3. Create Transparency – be open and authentic with your agendas, motives and reasons for decisions taken; within the bounds of confidentiality issues, enable people to access truth and information. If people don’t understand they will “make it up”, creating hidden or false meanings that work against trust.
4. Right Wrongs – acknowledge your mistakes, apologise when you are wrong and where possible make restitution.
5. Show loyalty – give direct credit to others; acknowledge their contributions. Don’t talk about people behind their backs or disclose people’s private information. When you have to speak about others, speak as though they were present.
Competence
6. Deliver Results – clarify expectations, goals and accountabilities; follow through on commitments made and accomplish what you have promised to do.
7. Get Better – work to stay relevant, continuously learn and increase your capabilities. Actively seek feedback, act on it and thank people for their feedback.
8. Confront Reality – be prepared to address the ‘tough stuff’ directly. If you don’t, you give tacit permission for unacceptable behaviours to continue or for issues to turn into major problems.
9. Clarify Expectations – be explicit and define expectations in ways that ensure shared clarity and mutual understanding.
10. Practice Accountability – hold yourself accountable and take responsibility for your actions/results; don’t make excuses or blame others. Hold others accountable as well; ensure there is real clarity on what they are responsible for.
Character and Competence
11. Listen First – listen to genuinely understand another’s thoughts, feeling and experiences before you seek to influence, diagnose or share your perspective. Use listening behaviours such as paraphrasing, clarifying and probing to assist understanding.
12. Keep Commitments – carefully make realistic commitments, then follow through and do what you have said you will do. Keeping commitments is the big badge of integrity in relation to trust behaviours.
13. Extend Trust – demonstrating your belief and trust in people is empowering and inspires more trust. When you withhold trust it tends to create a downward spiral; people don’t trust people who don’t trust them. Extend trust to others based on the situation, risk and credibility of the people involved.
In conclusion, you build trust and erode trust by the way that you behave. Bear in mind that we are all unique individuals and what strengthens or weakens another’s trust in us will be specific to the dynamic and personalities at play in that relationship. Each of us has a ‘goodwill’ account with people we work alongside. The balance of goodwill in that account can be either positive or negative depending on the nature and impact of our interactions with that person. Everything that we do will either deposit or withdraw from that account of goodwill. Practicing the 13 trust behaviours is one way that we can make deposits into this account. Remember growing your account takes time but withdrawals can happen suddenly.
“The glue that holds all relationships together — including the relationship between the leader and the led — is trust, and trust is based on integrity.” Brian Tracy
Karen Stockmann
Community Advisor