Trust is an exceptional quality that we humans can develop with each other. It goes a long way to building positive relationships. We hope and strive for trust in our families, and with our most intimate connections. Yet do we expect trust in our work lives?

Can you imagine the relief you might feel entering your work space, knowing that you can do your work with confidence and focus? That encouragement rather than criticism underlies the culture of your workplace? That a manager or co-worker is not scheming behind your back to knock you or your efforts down in any way? That you’re not being gossiped about?

Trust is especially key in today’s work spaces. Teamwork is becoming an essential aspect of work across every kind of business and organization.

Here’s what one team development company writes about this subject:

The people in your organization need to work as a team to respond to internal and external challenges, achieve common objectives, solve problems collaboratively, and communicate openly and effectively. In successful teams, people work better together because they trust each other. Productivity improves and business prospers. http://beyondthebox.ca/workshops/team-trust-building/

It Starts With Me and You

As with so many qualities in life, the idea of trust, or being trustworthy, starts with me and you.

It is essential that we take a hard look at ourselves, and determine whether or not we display the attributes of trustworthiness.

To do this, I might ask myself some of these questions:

Do I tell the truth?
Do I avoid backbiting (talking about others behind their back)?
Do I do what I say I’m going to do?
Do I apply myself to my work and do my best?
Do I consciously build positive relationships with all levels of people in my workplace?
Do I encourage or help others when I can?

There are many more questions to ask oneself, but these offer a place to start.

One website proposes a template to assess employees in terms of their trustworthiness:

Trust develops from consistent actions that show colleagues you are reliable, cooperative and committed to team success. A sense of confidence in the workplace better allows employees to work together for a common goal. Trust does not always happen naturally, especially if previous actions make the employees question if you are reliable. Take stock of the current level of trust in the workplace, identifying potential roadblocks. An action plan to build positive relationships helps improve the overall work environment for all employees.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/develop-maintain-trust-work-relationships-12065.html

This snippet comes from “Lou Holtz’s Three Rules of Life,” by Harvey MacKay:

“The first question: Can I trust you?”

“Without trust, there is no relationship,” Lou said. “Without trust, you don’t have a chance. People have to trust you. They have to trust your product. The only way you can ever get trust is if both sides do the right thing.”

http://www.uexpress.com/harvey-mackay/2012/5/7/lou-holtzs-3-rules-of-life

Asking questions helps me to be more aware and to learn. What might you change to help create greater trust with your colleagues or team?

As well, what actions can you take to help your team to experience greater trust altogether?

Valerie Senyk is a Team Development Facilitator, Blogger, & Customer Service Rep at BERTEIG. You can learn about her Team Dev workshop at http://www.worldmindware.com/AgileTeamDevelopment