I live in a small town in rural South Carolina. Most of my client work is in the larger regional markets of Charleston, Charlotte, and Asheville. I love coming home to Hartsville. Matters of business, politics, and religion are still hashed out over bad coffee and good sausage. It is not unusual to find executives from Sonoco Products Co. (a $4.9B entity with 19,900 employees in 33 countries headquartered here) at lunch with the mayor and the city manager. We thrive as a community by investing in each other, and by investing in trust.
The real treasures that draw me home are the close relationships that have enabled us to build a community that was just awarded the coveted title of All American City (for the second time). I believe that much of what I have gleaned living in this city of 8,000 people bodes well for those of you leading and managing in larger markets. There is a level of trust achievable in small communities that inspires and sustains shared vision and values. Shared vision and values are the backdrops for the competitive advantage available to teams willing to do the intentional hard work of creating and maintaining a healthy culture.
When team members deeply trust one another, they can pursue innovative results free from the drama of personality conflicts and inter-office politics.
The trust I am referring to is not a trust based on repeated and predictable behavior. It's a trust that results from working and living in close proximity. We see each other at the office. We work out together at the local YMCA. It is hard to miss each other at local restaurants. Our kids dance and play ball together. Consequently, we know each other in a deeper way. Our families know each other's families and portions of their stories. As members of a community, we share a vulnerability based trust. Our trust works because we allow others in our community to know us.
Vulnerability-based trust creates an atmosphere that makes room for debate and healthy conflict around ideas and concepts. When team members deeply trust one another, they can pursue innovative results free from the drama of personality conflicts and inter-office politics.
While most organizations assert that trust is a team value, their reality often exposes dysfunctional expressions. These include management by intimidation, back-room criticisms of imposed responsibilities while wearing a front-room smile, and a general lack of personal accountability for project performance. There are others, but you get the picture.
In a large market, you may not have the opportunity to interact with your team members across multiple life moments. But, that doesn't mean that you have to forfeit the level of trust that is achievable in small communities. It does require that you be more intentional about development. What kind of engagement does it take to evoke deeper levels of trust?
How to Develop Vulnerability-Based Trust in Your Team
Here are three keys to developing vulnerability-based trust, which can help your team experience exceptional performance:
- Be available! In your attempts to meet demands and deadlines in a fast-paced culture, connect with your team members on a personal level. Get lunch together without the constraints of a pressing project. Make time for conversations without agendas. Discover what matters to your peers. One of the qualities of great leadership that many of my clients have repeatedly identified as desirable is empathy. Here are a few ideas to help you develop empathy for your team.
- Let them know you! You don't have to communicate deep, dark details to reach the level of trust that brings value. You simply have to be willing to let others know what motivates you. These kinds of conversations will illuminate shared values and vision in ways that board rooms discussions don't permit.
- Reinforce healthy conflict! The best solutions emerge as a result of healthy conflict. When deep trust is foundational to your team's culture, it is possible to debate ideas and concepts without the painful drama of ego or personality clashes.
Trust Is the Fruit of Intentional Process
Developing the kind of trust that a small town culture facilitates is not the product of an event. It is the fruit of intentional process. Team performance guru Patrick Lencioni identifies this process as a key factor in establishing the competitive advantage of high-performance teams!
To your health,
Bill
We Can Help Your Team Develop Trust
Studies show that a healthy, authentic, engaged workplace actually gets more done—and, better yet, the best talent tends to stick around. Learn how we can help unlock your team into a more productive engine.
Great stuff Bill. I notice in my life, fear of disapproval, disappointment, or such causes me to retreat into defensive behaviors when conflict arises. This impacts relationships and breaks trust. How do we avoid these negative reactions and react in such a way that maintains trust?
Wayne,
Really good question, and an unfortunately common obstruction… I believe it helps to practice some re-framing techniques to shift our default perspective of negativity. There are some simple techniques in a good ready by Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage. Certainly not a cure-all, but intentional consideration produces good fruit!