Build Trust
Becoming a Trustworthy Person
Psychological Safety is Vital for creativity
Last time I introduced the idea of Psychological Safety and how important that is for effective teamwork. People need to feel safe to bring all their ideas to the team without fear of retribution, if the team has any hope of creative solutions to their challenges. When it comes down to it, Psychological Safety is all about trust. “Do I actually trust the people on this team?”
“The workplace must be one where people feel able to share their knowledge! This means sharing concerns, questions, mistakes, and half-formed ideas.”
Everyone wants trustworthy people
I’ve been talking about this concept with everybody from top managers to new employees. Everyone says the same thing. “I wish I could trust my boss” or “I wish I could trust my employees.” Wishing you could trust people doesn’t make them trustworthy. However there are things that you can do from any role to build trust on your team. Today we’ll look at how to build your trustworthiness and next we’ll talk about how to build trust on your team.
3 Components of Trust
Trust is made up of three vital components:
Competence – I believe that you can do your job well
Character – I believe that you will do your job even when it’s hard.
Care – I believe that you care about me as a person.
All three of these components are vital to trust. As one Turkish leader I recently talked to said “Trust is being willing to hand your house keys to someone”. If someone can’t do their job (lack of competence) clearly you can’t trust them at work. If someone won’t do their job unless forced (lack of character) you have to constantly monitor their performance. If someone doesn’t care about you as a person, you will likely feel used by them to achieve their own goals.
“Without trust, we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team.”
Questions to build your trustworthiness
Trust is something you can build within your team. However it always starts with you. Here are some questions to consider:
Competence – “Am I capable of doing my job? If not, what training do I need? What aspects of my job can I delegate to others who are better at this? How can I focus on the aspects of my job that I excel at?”
Character – “Am I truly committed to giving my best effort on this team? Do I believe in the mission of this team? Am I half-hearted, looking for another better option to come my way? If so, are you willing to commit to giving your best effort for this team regardless of others?”
Care – “Do I have a personal relationship with my co-workers? Do I know something about them outside of work? Do I notice how they are doing and sincerely hope for their good?” If not, take a little time to get to know them. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.
Stay tuned next time as we talk about building trustworthiness in others.
Let's Start the dialogue
Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing various ideas to help you bring Psychological Safety to your team, no matter what your position. Do you have a question about Psychological Safety or how you can apply it in your work or home? Leave a comment below or ask a question here that we will answer in future blog posts!
Follow us on Instagram to find out about upcoming events in your area.
Ask Your Question
Jeff Staege is an American who lived in China for 23 years before moving to Istanbul, Turkey in 2022. He is an executive coach and trainer in Emotional Intelligence. He helped found Sofian International Consulting and is the co-author of the EQ Solutions curriculum.
Jeff is married to Rebecca Staege and has four high school age children. He loves learning languages, reading, teaching, running and rock climbing.
