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TRUST / PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

“Trust trumps everything. And everything flows from trust — learning, credibility, accountability, a sense of purpose, and a mission that makes ‘work’ bigger than oneself.”— Deb Mills-Scofield

From the research and work of Patrick Lencioni

’…a more standard definition of trust, is one that centers around the ability to predict a person’s behavior based on past experience.’ = Reliability over time

High effectiveness teaming goes beyond Reliability over time and demands more from us

'Trust is about vulnerability, team members who trust one another learn to be comfortable being open, even exposed, to one another around their failures, weaknesses, even fears’

‘In the context of building a team, trust is the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good, and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group.’

SO

How do we build this culture of trust in a group, over time but not over years?

1. Grow the awareness of the leader and then the team members on how they each build, grow and lose trust

2. Allow each person on the team to consider what their ‘entry stance’ is in a team or in a conversation, and remind each other that each position along the Arc of Engagement is a viable personal strategy. But them some might be more effective than others depending on the circumstances. There is no right way or wrong way to do trust, but there are more effective and less effective stances when trying to create a culture of trust within a group though. Each person, therefore, has a personal responsibility to consider how to move themselves to a stance that is more useful for the situation or intended outcome of the team.

3. If leading a team or group that is trying to build greater psychological safety or trust, learn to be patient. There will be progress. There will be setbacks. There will be many factors that may need to be taken into account over time. Some of them are:

   1. Determine whethere it is worth the effort in the long run - what is the level of interdependence of the group? If high, then yes, it will be worth the effort. If low, perhaps this is not a group that requires high trust to deliver outstanding results.

   2. Be clear with everyone re what vulnerability-based trust is and what it is not - it is not therapy; it should not be emotional terrorism; it is to be considered a clear and informed invitation not a requirement

   3.The role of the Leader is key. Role modeling is key.

   4.Team readiness and evolution need to be taken into account

   5.Pace and timing may need to be adjusted depending on the circumstances. There is no one timeline to adhere to.

   6.It is an ongoing process (new members=new team, evolution of business agenda, missteps, etc)

   7.Diversity aspects will need to be considered as they cause power dynamics that are often invisible unless those who are representing some ‘minority’ grouping in the team feel safe enough to share their very different experience of things (gender, race, etc)

   8.Power Dynamics are always present and need to be attended to (leader/team members, seniority, majority, etc)

Amy Edmondson on the value of psychological safety and ‘stretch goals’ for high performing, learning teams

Judith Glaser's Arc Of Engagement - useful for self-assessment

Circle of Trust Self-Assessment

Consider your own trust circles. We all have circles of trust around us. Some people that we have quite close in our Level 1 level of trust, others that we might trust a bit more conditionally but still quite trustworthy in Level 2, other that might fit into Level 3 of our circles of trust, and then many who are beyond that for various reasons.

On a piece of paper, on the left hand side, write in a column the names of 6 to 7 people that you would consider in your closest Circle/s of Trust (Level 1 mostly, but for some of us that circle is so small that we might need to think of Level 2 as well to reach 7). Don’t overthink things.

Write those names now. Then once they are written, look at the instruction below the graphic.

Good.

Do you have your list of 7 names?

If no, stop and write them down as per the instructions above this graphic.

If yes, then proceed.

Now create some columns to the right of the list of names. Choose some headings for your columns from the list below:

Gender

Age

Sexual orientation

Nationality

Professional status

Ethnicity

Numbers of years you have known them

Introverts/Extroverts

Married or single

Other categories that might make sense to you?

With children, without children?

Put a check mark or an entry in each column.

Any patterns or insights from this quick demographic analysis? What insights do any of the patterns you have noticed give you? How might you enlarge your circles of trust? Are there any people you seem to be ignoring or not including even at Level 3 or Level 4. How might you get curious about your circles of trust and what they tell you about your leadership?