Build Your Team Through Trust

Build Your Team Through Trust

Is your team lacking a sense of trust that is inhibiting its growth? In today’s society, there is resistance to authority. This negative association with authority is often a byproduct of broken trust.

This often happens when teams have experienced a leader breaking their word or when decisions that affect them are executed without their input or knowledge.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 63% of people say they don’t trust their leader at work. This mistrust has been increasing in the areas of business, educational institutions, non-profits, and other sectors of our society.

An environment where mistrust is cultivated often produces a fearful culture. A culture that lacks trust and is fearful always has a negative impact on morale, engagement, and performance. Without trust, people become disengaged, and frustrated, and results fail.

The goal is to build a team that is collaborative and participatory. The first practical step is how you make decisions in your team.

The process of making decisions is the easiest way to build trust in your team. In today’s article, we will give you the 1-2-3 process of decision-making that will build trust and ultimately your team’s retention.

Example of How to Build Your Team Through Trust

Years ago, I experienced first-hand the value of decision-making. The general manager of one of our companies had done an analysis that showed that expenses for repair and maintenance of our trucks had been rising steadily to the point that it made more sense to buy new trucks than to keep throwing money into older ones.

We were just starting to apply the 1-2-3 approach to decision-making and he asked: “How about we pull the drivers and crew members together to discuss buying new trucks?” I said: “Sure, why not?”

So we met with the drivers and crew members, told them what we were thinking, and asked them to do the research and to spec out new equipment, which they readily agreed to do.

During their research, they were shocked at how expensive new trucks were. And to my surprise, in an attempt to save money, they recommended that we leave out radios (that was before iPods or iPhones) and some other features.

Since the drivers and crew members made those recommendations, their attitudes were: “Wouldn’t anyone make that same decision”?

Now, you know what would have happened if I or our general manager had decided to leave out the radios to save money.

We would most likely still be hearing about their displeasure with a decision that impacted them without discussing it with them!

What is the 1-2-3 Decision-Making Approach?

The book of Philemon gives us an incredible example of leadership. Paul demonstrates that authority does not exercise its power or status but grounds itself in relationships. Paul asks for participation relationally between Philemon and Onesimus. Ultimately Paul is asking Philemon to grant and acknowledge that the Gospel has transformed Onesimus. Paul does not order Philemon to action as his leader but instead appeals in a practical way and involves Philemon in the deeper spiritual and physical implications of his choices and decisions

The 1-2-3 Decision-Making process promotes teamwork and helps you lead your organization to consistently better results. It works like this:

(a)  Ask three questions before making a decision:

1. Who can help me make a better decision?
2. Who will have to carry it out?
3. Who will be impacted by it? And,

(b) Involve those people in making the decision as appropriate.

The 1-2-3 process enables anyone to build a highly motivated peak-performance team that enjoys the following three benefits.

1. Team members are educated

Engagement starts with the leadership, at the top, where your organization’s culture is shaped.

Motivating your team and engaging them, starts when people solve their own problems, creating realistic goals, and proper expectations. This provides the leader with an opportunity to advocate and guide in the collaborative efforts while team members work to educate themselves to be the answer to their own problems.

Each team member that is involved becomes educated about the results the process is designed to achieve.

Upfront involvement in turn results in less time spent “selling” and training” when it comes time to take action or implement a decision.

2. Team members are vested

When we add empowerment to engagement your results will soar!

Involving people in the process gives them a sense of ownership.

According to Edelman’s research the most trusted spokesmen to communicate on the topic of your employees, are the employees, not the leader. This brings us back to the participatory decision-making style of 1-2-3. When we empower our team, they become invested in the outcome of the decisions they make.

People support what they help create.

Asking people for input makes them feel valuable and inspires them to bring excellence to their work.

And this vesting in the process and the team increases people’s willingness to embrace the result, even when your decision may not be their first choice.

3. Better decisions, better results

                  “None of us are as smart as all of us.” ― Kenneth H. Blanchard Share on X

No matter how much a person knows, adding an additional person will expand a team’s knowledge base.

A 1-2-3 approach reflects a “People-First” culture, and a “People-First” culture places a premium on teamwork.

Highly knowledgeable specialists (e.g. from the front line) can provide invaluable information during the decision-making process.

When people’s thoughts and ideas are solicited, they are more likely to see themselves as full-fledged members of the team.

As you can see, the 1-2-3 process requires an intentional leader who humbly looks to others for input, but the additional time up-front results in the best outcome for everyone!

Pause and Reflect: Build Your Team Through Trust

• Is there mistrust in your team that is negatively affecting your team’s engagement?
• How can you implement this decision-making process to build your team?

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