Running head: TRUST IN TEAMS 1. Trust in Teams. William E. Garlick III. Siena Heights University

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1 Running head: TRUST IN TEAMS 1 Trust in Teams William E. Garlick III Siena Heights University

2 TRUST IN TEAMS 2 Trust in Teams There are many aspects to what makes teams function at a high level. One of the most basic requirements is for teams to develop a level of trust that enables further successful team activities such as collaboration and healthy conflict. Without first establishing trust, teams will not be able to realize their full potential. This paper will explore trust from a research perspective as well as look at some basic practical activities that can aid in developing trust. Trust Defined There appears to be no standard way researchers define the concept of trust. Ring and Van de Ven use the definition in their paper as confidence in the other s goodwill (1992, p. 488). Coleman defined trust as a commitment to cooperate before there is any certainty about how the trusted people will act (as cited in Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012, p. 38). Lencioni defines the lack of trust as uncomfortable being vulnerable with one another, unwilling to admit their weaknesses, mistakes, or needs for help (The Table Group, n.d., para 12). Somewhere in among these various definitions of what trust is or is not, is the understanding we will use for purposes of this paper. Research on Trust Factors Influencing Trust Trust and communication support each other; because of trust, individuals are more willing to engage in collaboration with the sharing of information and ideas. The converse was also true, a lack of trust shows up in situations where communication is a problem (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). Hakanen and Soudunsaari (2012) go on further to state that openness builds trust which leads to increased communication along with shared norms and morals.

3 TRUST IN TEAMS 3 Spector and Jones (2004) found through their research that the more an individual is generally trusting of others has a positive bearing on the level of trust assigned to a new coworker. They also found that men had a higher initial trust level toward other men than they did for women. Women showed no different trust levels for either gender (Spector & Jones, 2004). Research also showed what one would think is common sense that teams with more frequent and past interactions established higher levels of trust (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). Shared experiences worked to create trust and help establish deeper levels of interactions (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). Thus, it is easier to develop trust amongst members that are frequently working together or have a longer duration to their team, such as permanent role based teams. Relationship of Trust and Performance Research at this point has established that trust among team members enhances team performance (De Jong, Dirks, & Gillespie, 2016) (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). Lencioni places trust as the fundamental base component to his model for successful teams. Believing so much that trust is a foundational, essential piece, he writes, without it, teamwork is all but impossible (Lencioni, 2002, p. 195). Beyond the thought that teamwork is not possible without trust there were some specific outcomes related to trust, namely, trust increases the level of communication as well as the commitment and loyalty between members, which then leads to a higher team performance (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). Trust is positively related to team performance and team member trust is one of the best predictors for team performance above all other predictors studied (De Jong, Dirks, & Gillespie, 2016). One interesting aspect of trust in relation to

4 TRUST IN TEAMS 4 performance was the finding that modern organizations rely on trust in lieu of rigid rules and policies (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). I suppose the idea behind this is that high levels of trust lead to more open communication and conversation which teams can work through issues as opposed to having rules and standards against that dictate behaviors and activities. This could indicate that there are implications on employee engagement from the perspective of trust. Practical Implications of Research Because trust among team members has been shown to have a positive effect on team performance organizations should be paying attention to trust as it has practical application in the work outcomes (De Jong, Dirks, & Gillespie, 2016). Managers will need to focus on developing both the head and heart of the employee as it relates to trust. Trust is more influential to team performance than past team performances and should be the focus of leaders (De Jong, Dirks, & Gillespie, 2016). Building Trust Lencioni reminds his readers that trust, especially the vulnerability-based variety, is not established overnight (Lencioni, 2002). It takes time and effort to establish and build trust especially where trust may have been lost previously. Unfortunately, trust is fragile and can be quickly dissolved through less than desirable experiences (Hakanen & Soudunsaari, 2012). In his book Patrick Lencioni offers several activities that may help teams better develop trust among its members. The first suggestion was to have members of the group each in turn share information about themselves to the others. This could be simply be answering questions such as where they grew up, how many brothers and sisters they have, what they enjoy doing outside of work or other questions similar to these (Lencioni, 2002). The goal here is to begin to break down the

5 TRUST IN TEAMS 5 natural barriers have with others and begin to see each other differently. To try and connect with the others on a more personal level than just the typical business transaction. I have participated in this type of activity with teams that were not previously established and it was used as an icebreaker. This was a good exercise in getting people to open up more and set up further productive conversations in the future. This may also have similar desired outcomes with established teams, especially if they are in the situation of being considered dysfunctional. The next activity involves more risk but has the potential to increase the quality of vulnerability of the group. The task is for each member to identify one thing that each other peer does that contributes the most to the team and what one thing each person could improve or eliminate (Lencioni, 2002). The feedback from this exercise could be great for growth of individuals as well as growth in trust in the team. The most recent time in going through this exercise, I felt it overall was a worthwhile exercise but I do not think I would recommend this as an exercise for a team void of trust, which would also preclude doing this as one of the first team growth exercises. Of the other exercises Lencioni points out for helping to build trust, the only other one I will call out here is the 360-degree feedback sessions. Much like previous suggestion, there is a certain level of risk inherent to this exercise as well (Lencioni, 2002). Lencioni (2002) recommends that this exercise be independent of any performance evaluation or compensation discussions. This has the potential to further increase the quality of trust in a team but at the same time requires trust already to build upon. Another way to increase trust in teams is to foster the appropriate environment that is conducive to allowing vulnerable conversations to happen. In an article discussing learning organizations, the idea of providing a psychologically safe environment is suggested to allow for

6 TRUST IN TEAMS 6 employees to be open with ideas without fear of being dismissed or marginalized (Garvin, Edmonson, & Francesca, 2008), this same can also be true of building trust. If the expectation and follow-through of setting up an culture where everyone can be comfortable with expressing their thoughts with other team members, they will be less guarded and more willing to have authentic conversations with each other, leading to a deeper level of trust. Conclusion Trust is critical component of effective teams and essential for highly productive ones. Both experience and research shows this to be true so leaders and organizations should work to ensure that teams have adequate opportunities to develop the desired levels of trust. In addition to the suggestions listed in this paper, leaders should be modeling the behaviors in trusting members of the team as well as being transparent as much as possible. If there is one thing to take away from this paper it is that trust, or lack thereof, does not need to be left to chance to develop, we can be intentional in helping our teams realize their potential.

7 TRUST IN TEAMS 7 References De Jong, B. A., Dirks, K. T., & Gillespie, N. (2016). Trust and team performance: A metaanalysis of main effects, moderators, and coveraites. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), Hakanen, M., & Soudunsaari, A. (2012). Building trust in high-performing teams. Technology Innovation Management Review, Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. Ring, P. S., & Van de Ven, A. H. (1992). Structuring cooperative relationships between organizations. Strategic Management Journal, Spector, M. D., & Jones, G. (2004). Trust in the workplace: Factors affecting trust formation between team members. The Journal of Social Psychology, 144(3), The Table Group. (n.d.). Author Q&A Pat Lencioni - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Retrieved from ysfunctions_of_a_team.pdf