Want a Successful Workplace Team? Start with the Trust Factor
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What makes you trust someone? Is it that you believe they’re competent? That you feel safe with them? That they’re well-meaning and want to help? You might say, it depends. Or, one of these possibilities feels much more important to you than another. Is it possible that someone else might have a completely different set of factors for trusting that same person?
These simple questions have already uncovered a lot of layers, wouldn’t you say? That’s why we say that building trust in a team is an ongoing process that is as complex as the varying personalities, backgrounds, and experiences of each and every member.
When we join a company, partnership or team, our expectation is that everyone involved will exhibit professional behavior toward us and each other. Instead, it’s highly possible that we may become one of the more than 60 million adults in the United States who are affected in some way by bullying behavior at work.
What kind of behaviors are we talking about? Our definition is any interpersonal behavior that causes emotional distress in others sufficient enough to impede their productivity or disrupt organizational functioning. It isn’t just a personality conflict — it’s a chronic pattern of disrespectful behavior.