The fuel that allows a leadership team to thrive is trust. The findings of Google’s foundational study on what creates a great team at Google reaffirm this point: “Individuals on teams with high trust bring in more revenue, are less likely to leave Google, are more likely to harness the power of diverse ideas from their teammates and are rated as effective twice as often by executives.”
Trust is a complex concept with varied connotations for different individuals, and it is an emotionally charged concept that can be positive or harmful. The fact that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc., or dependent on the persona, skillset, strength, or truth of someone or something. We compress this description down to three critical components in our work with leadership teams: trust in competency, trust in character, and trust in dependability.
The good news is that new viewpoints and talent help a leadership team. The bad news is that teams don’t have much time to bond. Friction, misalignment, and a lack of trust are commonly felt throughout an organization. Directors and middle managers are the ones who are most affected. People who are far from the center, on the other hand, may experience the whiplash sensation of a long-wagging tail. Everyone else may weigh competing priorities that aren’t adequately examined or chosen at the top.
When building a high-trust and dependable leadership team, it’s critical to set clear objectives and focus on two crucial areas: onboarding and openness.
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How to Build a Dependable and Trustworthy Leadership Team?
Create a routine for onboarding new employees
Companies that have established world-class onboarding systems are all too often allowing executive hires to circumvent the system. Executives don’t have time to go through a couple of days of onboarding, it appears. On the other hand, their lack of participation nearly invariably becomes an issue later.
It may make sense to cut corners due to the demands placed on leaders. However, their involvement, along with everyone else, receives a lot of attention and is greatly appreciated. Participation is crucial when it comes to aspects of our culture like service philosophy or communication as a team. Allowing a CEO to skip these training encourages them to revert to old habits.
The way we speak with one another determines team dynamics. It was always painfully obvious when a leader spoke in blurts in the past when organizations placed great importance on excellent and detailed communication.
Onboarding is continuous
The first week or even the first quarter isn’t the end of onboarding. It’s a never-ending process of assimilating someone into a bigger culture and finally having them own a piece of it. Many of the fast-paced CEOs I work with naturally want to employ someone and get them up to speed in the first few weeks. The worry is that the new leader will think that onboarding is complete and that they will automatically understand “how we do things” in addition to everything else that is expected of them.
In one-on-one interactions with the founder of a top executive, culture can be passed down. Also, when there is a sense that “we’re all in this together,” culture is felt much more strongly. The message is that accelerated onboarding is not appropriate for the other new hires. Your new executive is entitled to the necessary background and foundation to succeed.
Consider establishing onboarding milestones for leaders based on current programs. Set unambiguous metrics that you and your coworkers recognize once you’ve fully incorporated them into the new organization.
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Transparency should be encouraged and practiced in all relationships
A typical scenario is that a new executive is hired and reports directly to the CEO. The thrill of recruiting them gradually wears off. The team’s demands necessitate a quick and decisive response. Perhaps their advice is required for a pending pitch with a major client. The problem is that the CEO isn’t sure how to read “where they stand” because they’re still new. Their body language and tone are difficult to understand, and they appear to resent what is being requested of them.
Things get even worse when you add a new dependency on virtual meetings. We fill in the gaps with missing information when we don’t understand where someone is coming from in their communication. The pessimism takes over, and last week’s rock star finds himself in hot water. Leaders build up perceptions of what motivates them, whether they have the experience we require, and whether they can be trusted in the absence of verbalized, specific goals.
Check in!
Check-ins, which urge all leaders to discuss what they’re bringing to meetings, are conscious leadership techniques that remind us that we all have items competing for our attention. Check-ins also assist us in figuring out what motivates each other’s actions over time. Some patterns emerge. Trust is built on familiarity and consistency.
It’s also critical for leaders to encourage and recognize genuine communication among their teams. You should applaud a team member in front of their peers when you appreciate them stating something brave or exhibiting good EQ. It’s not about what they said in particular. It all boils down to their willingness to say it.
They move beyond the unrelenting constraints that naturally erode trust over time by bringing more attention and consistency to onboarding new leaders and encouraging them to communicate with transparency. The values of service and connection are strengthened. There’s no better time to build a strong foundation of trust than when someone new is added. Paying particular attention to onboarding and open communication supports this foundation.
Get to know your teammates better
Given today’s complex environment’s quick pace and continual change, leadership teams need to know each other beyond functional roles and expertise. Teammates must establish deeper links to grasp the details that increase understanding and bonding. While social settings like meals, lunches, cocktails, and other trips are beneficial, CEOs must set the tone in their daily encounters by asking about family life and outside hobbies and learning about passions and inspirations.
Self-awareness
Setting aside even a tiny portion of a team’s cadence to cultivate a feeling of curiosity and knowledge among all team members can pay off handsomely. For this activity to be fruitful, we must adopt the two sides of self-awareness—our view of how we perceive ourselves and our respect for how others see us. Psychometric instruments are beautiful tools for better understanding people’s personalities and motivations. Exercises can help teams understand why their teammates know the world the way they do.
Vulnerability is the key to making these types of getting to know you exercise successful or to creating healthy connections in general. Vulnerability is at the heart of social relationships; it is the lifeblood of humility and can manifest itself in various ways. When colleagues show that they rely on one another or admit to making mistakes, they show vulnerability. Vulnerability shows the world that we are human and acts as a lubricant in developing positive relationships.
Obtain consensus on the significance of trust
It’s common for leadership team members to have various levels of trust — certain teammates may have worked in groups for years and can finish each other’s sentences, while others may have experienced trust issues. Whatever the situation, leadership teams must take the time to convey why trust is so vital to their team. Teams with a defined goal get the trust-building process off to a strong start since teammates are much more inclined to trust each other when their interests are aligned.
Prep up your team
To ensure the success of these crucial meetings, teammates must come prepared to actively listen to one another and attempt to grasp the complex perspectives of their colleagues, which may differ from their own in many circumstances. Teammates will undoubtedly go through informal decision-making processes, with some trusting straight away while others believe trust must be gained over time. When we question leadership teams what it means to have a trusting environment, the responses are varied. None of these viewpoints are incorrect, but it is critical to understand colleagues’ opinions while building or mending trust.
Be wary of making assumptions
We all create assumptions to fill in gaps in our perceptions and make sense of a complex environment. On the other hand, Unchecked assumptions can be dangerous and result in unforeseen consequences. One form of assumption is the “hangover” effect, which occurs when a new CEO is inducted with a hands-off, empowering style, but certain team members still act as if he is micromanaging.
Other assumptions are based on team members’ observations of their colleagues’ skills, character, and dependability. This could be a problem with development, but it isn’t always a concern of competence. Trust is built when teammates start talking about the behaviors they’re noticing that contribute to assumptions.
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Conclusion
Great leadership teams don’t expect trust to appear on its own; they take efforts to help develop a foundation of trust and know that, given the challenges of operating a business, trust will need to be restored at times. First and foremost, leadership teams must take the time to get to know one another better. Next, leadership teams must discuss and accept why trust is vital in developing a successful leadership team. Most essential, team members must commit to particular behavioral aspects to build team members’ relationships.
