How to build a strong team culture in 2022.

The most important aspect of building great team culture and team relationships, is trust.

·       Having trust means that information is readily shared.

·       Having trust means that people are able to speak up about problems in meetings.

·       Having trust means that people feel valued.

Developing a culture of trust takes time and open and honest conversations, carried out in a safe and constructive way. In particular, with so many people working remotely these days, trust plays a bigger role than ever.

The problem is, no one teaches you how to trust, let alone to instil the idea of trust in the workplace. We all come to the workplace as messy people who operate based on our lived experiences, seeing the world through our own eyes and rarely taking the time to reflect how other people make sense of the world. But it’s our behavioural actions, these small and seemingly insignificant actions that build up to create real and felt impact over time.

When it comes to the workplace we have to lead by example. In order to trust, you have to be trusting – and that’s difficult in an environment where you know someone is going to screw you over if you don’t have Monday’s report ready because your dog was ill. But it’s a behaviour that if it is incorporated by everyone will reap huge benefits over time.

The problem is, we may think we are in environments where there IS trust, but really there isn’t. Or perhaps it isn’t where it needs to be. Think about your own workplace. You get on with your co-workers and your boss is great. You know a lot about her and you get along on a personal level. Your colleagues are fun and hard working and you get along together as a team. But one day, your colleague over the desk from you makes a smart comment. It’s a bit sassy. Perhaps it’s banter. Maybe its sarcasm. But then maybe next time you’ll be a bit less enthusiastic to provide her with the information she needs. I mean, you’ll do it, but she won’t be at the top of your list. A few weeks later you’re in a meeting and someone suggests a new way forward on a project you’re all working on. You think the idea is ludicrous and there’s a far better way but you remember last time you tried to get your point across and they pretty much talked over you and while it wasn’t exactly being shot down, it knocked your confidence a bit. Perhaps you won’t speak up now after all.

None of these actions are measured. It’s so ingrained in how we operate, it happens as naturally as breathing. And the effect is that culture becomes steadily eroded, efficiency and communication gets worse. It’s not that it’s bad. The environment isn’t bad. The people you work with aren’t bad. It’s just how things are. But that’s ok because its like this or worse in other places, right?

“When people don’t share information or ask for help or speak up about problems in meetings, decisions suffer and the bottom line takes a hit. When people feel they’re constantly being judged or second-guessed or marginalised, tenure suffers and the bottom line takes a hit. When people fear speaking up with an idea or taking a risk or challenging a bad solution, innovation suffers and the bottom line takes a hit.” - Mark Scullard [1].

Wrong. It doesn’t need to be like that. If you are in an organisation that places trust as the most important thing, where people feel safe knowing that they speak up with good intention and will be listened to, where open debate and interjection is a lively, creative and dare I say it, fun part of evolving ideas, where people are held accountable to their actions and those of their teams, where the results of the collective are considered stronger than the results of the individual, then my friend, you are in a good place.

So how can you start to build trust within your team? How do we increase levels of understanding between people? The answer is taking a personality-based approach to understanding one another. We don’t need to sit in a circle holding hands and singing, it’s still work and the workplace right? But by allowing a space to share experiences, allowing people to safely feel vulnerable with each other, is the key to creating an environment where we are real people who can then engage and connect with one another on a level that is meaningful and impactful using their heads AND their hearts.     

How to start building trust in your team.

1. Prepare to be vulnerable yourself. Be open to being the real you and encourage others to do the same. Share stories, histories and find out more about the real person you see at work everyday.

2. Make actions with positive intent. People don’t set out to be difficult on purpose so always assume good intention.

3. Let people do their jobs. You trusted someone enough to hire them – so let them go on and do their job. If they are working remotely, let them do their job. If they are in the workplace, let them do their job. You’ll soon know if they aren’t but in the meantime, it is up to you to guide, support and lead them, right?

4. Stay curious. Ask people how they are. Don’t assume someone is OK when you never see them. Just because someone may not be coming to you with problems doesn’t mean they don’t have them. Ask. Create an environment where people want to come and talk to you about stuff. Like, actually, when I was up all night with my poorly dog and I didn’t get that report in on time, it was horrible and I was sad and scared about my dog and I was worried I was letting you down. Give them the space to be able to tell you things like that.

5. Don’t be a one hit wonder. If you want to increase levels of trust in your team, don’t have a go and then drop it a week later. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s important to enough to do properly and its important enough to keep persevering. There are no shortcuts, just steady steps with consistent positive action and eventually it will happen.

6. Embrace the differences. Everyone is different and will approach work and challenges at work in different ways. These ways may make no sense to you at all. That doesn’t make them better, worse, right or wrong. Just different. But it is important you take the time to understand where other people sit with their working style preferences and use that to the advantage of the team. Everyone brings a different piece to the party and diversity in thinking is a huge business advantage.

1. The Invisible drain on your company’s culture – Mark Scullard, PhD.