Solution Saturday: New to the Team
Dear Dan,
Executive leadership put me on a team, of people I like, but are afraid of me and each other. How can one work to build the trust of others they work with on a team they aren’t leading?
Sincerely,
New Team Member
Dear New,
You’re definitely barking up the right tree. Trust is the first concern of people who want to become effective on new teams.
Declare yourself to individuals:
- Practice transparency by declaring your desire to connect and build trust.
- Ask for advice.
- Avoid making public declarations. It looks like showboating.
- Avoid the appearance of favoritism. Begin with those who seem most open, but include everyone.
Use low tones:
Brash, loud, and aggressive invites people to build walls. Good manners matter. Use please, thank you, and titles.
- Quiet isn’t weak.
- Stand up for your values with kindness.
- Disagree with compassion.
- Stay open to alternatives.
- Ask, “What do you think.”
- Tell people what you think, if you don’t, you look shady.
Dirty jobs:
- Take on a job that others don’t want, but don’t allow yourself to be the “garbage man” who always does the dirty work.
- Solve a problem.
- Make things better for others.
Big ears:
Listen for:
- Motivations. When you learn what motivates a person, you learn how to influence them.
- Frustrations. Empathize don’t whine. Leaders face into the future even when discussing the past. Don’t affirm frustrations that are centered on others.
- Goals. What do they want?
Say no:
Be helpful, not slavish. Boundaries say you respect yourself.
Connect socially:
- Go out after work or for lunch in small groups.
- Avoid one-on-one social engagements when you’re new.
- Stop by a ball game where a colleague’s child is participating. Don’t stay long. Make an appearance.
What suggestions might help “New” build trust with new teammates?
Seeing the title of this post, I knew TRUST had to be the goal. Great suggestions!!!
Thanks John. I respect your affirmation.
Dear Dan,
Suggestions are very good. They will minimise the difference and increase trust. However, triggers of low trust attract bigger attention. We need to delve what creates such scenario. Many times, our assumption to create autonomy, create transparency and rewarding may not help much. They might need better attention. Unless we know the triggers, our effort could not have bigger impact. Many times, what we see is not clear. Despite, putting efforts, people tend to have low trust. For example, when people fear of taking responsibility, and you start giving them responsibility, it may not create trust. However, knowing the reasons for their fear and addressing that could be more powerful.
The idea is to look deeper to find out reasons for low trust. Winning trust is collective effort. Individual working on this concept may not create impact. What I have experienced is that many times, low trust is the people inherent fear which people can provide better remedial measures. This can provide first step to deal with low trust.
Thanks Dr. Gupta. You insights are instructive. As I wrote this post, I thought about the culture of the team. It’s such an important factor. What are the values that drive behaviors?
Glad you added your thoughts.
Dan, your overview on “building trust” caused me to think of the human desire for belonging and connecting with others—and also the parallel of building relationships …and how the more we relate, the more we trust.
Shoot, I can go on with a litany of things: the more we relate, the more we learn; the more we relate, the more dynamic our method, process, delivery, quality, or lesson; the more we relate, the more we enjoy…our work, others and ourselves.
Dan, one little, itty, bitty thing. What about the second part of your reader’s question
insofar as “…on a team they aren’t leading?” Is this leader to assume a leadership role or simply be a new member of the team yet still create trust and relationships?
Thanks Books. I really enjoy your focus on relating.
Regarding, “on a team they aren’t leading…” Great observation and question. I responded to the question with the trust part of the question in mind.
What are you thoughts on assuming a leadership role?
I sincerely and honestly don’t know, Dan. Two points, though, must be taken into consideration.
One is there must a reason why his hierarchy put him there. And two he claims he is NOT going to lead that group. So, I say it would be a nice act of humility if he simply dismissed his authority as leader and became part of the team. What do you think? Thank you.
It’s all about sharing knowledge and credit
Thanks Bill. You have added wonderful suggestions. Sharing knowledge in a distrustful environment takes courage and commitment to what’s best for the organization.
Great post Dan. I am part of a new team, and I already see trust as a big issue among the existing team members. There is a strong desire to build trust, but there are several behaviors that are going on that are undermining that desire. I will use your post this week to drive open dialogue about building trust.
Good one!