How To Build Or Repair Trust In Your Team: The Trust Formula

[Reprinted from Forbes.com article by Forbes Coaches Council Member Mark Batson Baril, September 28 2020]

Over the years as an organizational ombuds, I have witnessed the dynamics of thousands of interpersonal relationships in teams. What key factor, particularly during any period of crisis, differentiates the high-performing, responsive team from the one that goes down in flames?

The factor that consistently rises to the top is trust. Mavenlink’s “Future of Work” survey highlights trust as “a pillar of strong work cultures.” More than half of respondents listed it as a top-three preference for “what enables a workplace culture that creates success.”

So, leaders just need to build trust in their teams — simple fix, right? Not so fast!

Most trust-building efforts are merely triage solutions that can leave leaders wondering what went wrong when team trust spirals downward in the face of the next crisis.

There is no quick fix for building or repairing trust.

The truth is that trust — this holy grail of team dynamics — is multi-layered, complex and an ongoing process.

Our years of coaching teams in building trust has revealed that trust is an individual and very personal thing. How do we peel back the layers in order to work with our teams on those root causes that will lead to longer-lasting shifts?

Through our own observations and analyses of the latest trust research, we identified the key variables that go into an individual’s “trust process.” The result is what we call the Trust Formula, expressed as this equation:

(Propensity to Trust)(Trust Factors)(History) / Level of Risk = Level of Trust

As the formula implies, how and why an individual trusts someone is a multi-variable, nuanced and often subconscious process. This is why a triage approach is likely to produce disappointing outcomes in the long run. We have found success in deploying a deep-dive team process that works with these four components to build high-trust teams, often with the welcome byproduct of strengthening the whole company’s organizational culture.

How can a leader build or rebuild trust?

1. Acknowledge the diversity of experience that influences trust. “Propensity to trust” and “level of risk” are a bit tough to unpack because they represent an individual’s unique cumulation of experiences, background, genetics, culture, environment, etc. Understanding that these underlying drivers are in play, however, helps you tune into behaviors that stand out in your team members — behaviors that need to be addressed early on to avoid an erosion of trust within the team.

For example, “Joe” was consistently ignoring a fellow team member in a way that was disrupting the group. We found out that he didn’t trust her and was unaware that it was because he wasn’t familiar with her nationality.

2. Walk the talk by showing yourself to be trustworthy. “Trust factor history” relates to an individual’s previous experiences of someone exhibiting or not exhibiting the Trust Factors. One of the most common examples we see is in boss-employee relationships. “Joyce” had a difficult past experience with a bullying boss, so she looks upon any boss with suspicion. It took some time for her current boss to rebuild her trust through behaviors that slowly shifted her perception.

3. Use the Trust Factors to help understand an individual’s level of trust. We have identified the 10 most common factors that influence how much a person will tend to trust another. The higher the perception of the behavior, the higher the level of trust. To understand how a team member might arrive at their level of trust in you based on these factors, consider these questions:

• Benevolence: Are you a well-meaning leader whose genuine desire is to help?

• Competence: Do you have the skillset and capacity to achieve the goal in question?

• Integrity/Character: Do you conduct yourself from a place of honesty and strong core values?

• Listening/Curiosity: Are you genuinely interested and curious to hear what the team member has to say?

• Meets Expectations: Can the team member depend on you to do what you say you’re going to do?

• Openness/Accuracy: Are you a “straight talker,” transparent and as good as your word?

• Rules/Laws And Consequences: Do you represent rules, agreements and accountabilities that team members can count on?

• Relative Power/Authority: What is your position and/or influence over the team member?

• Safety: Are you providing a safe and nonthreatening space for your team?

• Similarity/Affinity: Do you share something in common with this team member (such as gender, hometown, interests like sports or music)?

Each of these factors works as a trust data point, carrying a certain level of importance on an individual’s particular “trust meter.” For instance, “Meeting Expectations” may be very important to you, but for Joyce, who had an experience with a difficult boss, the “Safety” factor will rate much higher.

How do you learn what factors someone uses to build trust? Ask them!

4. Start the conversation. Host a get-together, either in the group or individually, with the agenda of having a conversation about trust; you can use the Trust Formula as a roadmap. Set ground rules for all parties to maintain open communication, active listening and respect for each other (bringing in a professional facilitator could be helpful here). Ask questions without response or judgment about the Trust Factors. Which ones resonate? Which ones don’t? The key to success is to explore openly without the expectation of a solution or specific result.

A new, better relationship with trust starts right here.