Anchor Coaching Group, April 2024

Have you ever had a team member tell you: “I don’t trust you” or “Trust between us is broken”?  It’s devastating!  Have you ever been part of a team with a low trust level?  It’s very hard, or impossible, to optimize any team dynamic like accountability, conflict resolution, or effective decision making if trust as a foundation is absent. 

Years of team research and multiple models have put trust in the center of gravity when it comes to the team’s ability to become a cohesive, high-performing unit. 

Much like love or respect, trust is an intangible concept, although actions that demonstrate, reinforce, or break trust are very real.  In our practice, we have found that a more granular identification of trust is helpful when teams struggle in this area. 

Try this exercise in your team.  Ask your team members if they trust each other.  First, you will notice you rarely will get binary answers.  Most of the time team members will give conditional responses.  Secondly, when you ask “why,” you will get a wide variety of explanations. Trust is a complex construct.

Based on our work with teams, we have identified four different types of trust. 

• Intention Trust: Team members believe other’s intentions are positive, genuine, and aligned with shared goals and values.
• Competency Trust: Team members have confidence in each other’s capabilities to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Transparency Trust: Team members believe others will share relevant information, express opinions candidly, and provide accurate feedback.
• Accountability Trust: Team members have confidence that others will take responsibility for their actions, admit mistakes, and take corrective action when necessary.

There is some interdependency between each type but in general, each trust type can be identified and reinforced separately within teams. For example, Intention Trust in the team can be low, while Competency Trust in the team is solid.  Identifying which of these four elements of trust are strengths and which are growth opportunities will help your team in other team dynamics.  For example, Accountability Trust is essential to create a team environment in which team members follow through on their commitments.  Intention Trust is the foundation of effective conflict resolution. 

Are you ready to explore more about trust?  Subscribe to Team Insights, where we will explore the four types of trust in detail and teach you how to identify areas of opportunity for your team and practical interventions to impact growth in each type of trust

Looking for expert guidance on your journey to achieving Enduring Peak Performance for your team? Let Anchor Coaching Group elevate your team’s performance. Visit our website at www.anchorcoachingroup.com. We are excited to discover your team’s unique challenges and opportunities and partner with you for lasting success.