Broken Trust
I was recently reminded of Patrick Lencioni’s, Five Dysfunctions of a Team (see image). The model is a pyramid with “absence of trust”, at the bottom and the other four components building off the bottom. According to the model, without trust you will not overcome any of the other four dysfunctions. Trust must be established within the team before team members can:
deal effectively with conflict
be fully committed
hold each other accountable
be results focused
This is a model that I believe in. I have worked in environments where trust was present, and where it was absent. I have also been part of a team where the idea of trust wasn’t even a possibility. The problem I find is, it is difficult to get employees and leaders to open up and be vulnerable enough to have a conversation about trust. This level of openness is rarely achieved in the corporate world. Just the thought of having this conversation can be terrifying.
Trust is foundational when it comes to leading a team. Your ability to establish trust within your team is essential to your long-term success. Your team needs to trust you and you need to create an environment of trust within your team. It takes constant intention.
How will you know if there is a lack of trust within your team? Will you notice the signs?
Many years back, I was the manager of an employee who was in her first position out of school, she lacked corporate experience and struggled to acclimate to the very conservative environment of the company.
I found it difficult to manage her because everything was an issue for her, there was always drama, and everything seemed so exaggerated. I sorted through her concerns as she brought them to me and did my best to focus on what I thought seemed valid. I thought I was protecting her by not escalating everything. She was already getting a bit of a reputation and I didn’t want her to be viewed negatively by those above. I missed something big that she told me, honestly there was always so much noise, I don’t even recall the conversation. Regardless, I wasn’t listening to her like I should have been and that resulted in broken trust. She no longer trusted me. Once a very engaged employee, she became disengaged, had low productivity, missed deadlines, and eventually resigned.
This was an important leadership lesson for me - trust should never be taken for granted and once broken, it is difficult to repair.
There are many impacts of broken trust, here a just a few:
employees withdraw / disengage
lower productivity
stress and anxiety
defensive
loss of collaboration
If you believe there might be a trust issue on your team, there are a few things you can do to begin rebuilding the trust.
Leadership Coaching Skills:
Open dialogue is the best way to combat broken trust. Start having authentic conversations with each team member to gain an understanding of what is happening and how they are feeling. Make sure they feel heard and understood. Acknowledge what happened to break trust and take responsibility. Allow others to express their feelings and be supportive.
Maybe even more importantly, I should suggest what NOT to do - ignore it! I know several of you are are smiling right now because that is exactly what you planned on doing. It will not go away with time or on it’s own. In fact, it will continue to get worse until it hits a breaking point. No one wants to work in an environment that is unhealthy and stressful.
Other Resources:
I know as a leader, you work hard to earn the trust of your employees. And some days you feel as though you can't do anything right, despite your efforts. Keep going! You will get there.
