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[T103]Team Building And Trust

by Arlyne Diamond, Arl

In order to be honest and forthcoming with others, a level of trust must exist. The less we trust, the more guarded and self-protective we become. That's one of many reasons it's a challenge to work effectively in teams. The challenge increases tremendously when the people involved haven't been given the opportunity to get to know each other personally.

Today's workplace consists of people who have never met each other working on projects. Indeed many of them live in other countries. Those that might live close to their corporate headquarters often telecommute and are rarely available for face-to-face meetings.

In addition, the team is frequently led by a project manager ? who has a dotted line relationship to the others and thus very little authoritative leverage. The project manager can only manage through persuasion and negotiation ? two methods requiring a high level of trust.

Trust is not easy to develop in the best of circumstances ? when working with distant teams the problems increase tremendously.

Professor Larry Leifer at Stanford University discovered that when he had students working in teams from different locations members, complained that they were doing more work than other teammates. When camcorders were placed in their cubicles so that they could see each other at work, the complaints diminished considerably. Apparently, the very act of seeing someone situated at their keyboard increased the belief that they were working hard.

Visual clues are critically important. The more contact we have with another human being (assuming that they are basically trustworthy), the easier it is to trust them. One could even hypothesize that at some unconscious level, our sense of smell plays a part in what has to be seen as primarily an emotionally (psychologically) based decision.

Sound or voice quality is less effective than visual clues. When we know someone only due to our telephone interaction with them, we develop less personal or positive feelings than when we actually sit across the table from them.

We also have the variable of ?low-context? and ?high-context? cultures. Low context cultures are those in which business is conducted without developing personal relationships. This is akin to our decision to buy something from a discount or big box store. High context cultures are those in which relationships are developed long before the business discussions commence. You might relate this to your decision to work with a consultant, or a decorator, or even shopping regularly in a small private boutique store. This adds another dimension to the problems of building trust between people here in the states and their counterparts in Asia or other parts of the world.

Given these problems, here are my top seven tips to developing trust in distant teams:

1. Allow members of the team to take the time to get to know each other on a somewhat personal level.

2. Have in-house discussions, at all locations, about what is proper to ask and discuss and what crosses the line into intrusive or inappropriate.

3. Share pictures ? not only of the staff, but also of their families. Most people are family-oriented and grow to like (and trust) each other when they start to see pictures of their children and to hear stories about them.

4. Send your managers to the locations of their team members whenever possible. Although this is an expense, the potential value in developing trust, respect, and therefore greater levels of understanding and productivity is immeasurable.

5. Teach cultural diversity. Let the people in the various locations around the world learn as much as possible about the behaviors, customs, and expectations of those in other areas with whom they work.

6. If you have telecommuters who can be brought into the office once or twice a month, be sure to have as many face-to-face meetings as possible with them.

7. Use videoconferences and video-cams where feasible.

In other words, break some of the old rules that demand full focus on work related conversations only. Take the time and create the structure that enables people to develop relationships that lead to trust. This leads to cooperation, understanding, and higher productivity and creativity.

Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said,?There are two things people want more than sex andmoney?recognition and praise.? Time and time again theone motivating factor that production and is at the top ofmost employee lists is appreciation for a job well done. It isrequested more than the green stuff, money.

Why don't more managers, owners, and employees giveappreciation? Some people state they don't know how togive it. Others say they don't know what to give. Stillothers say they are too busy to give or show appreciation.

I think this is one of the biggest sins of managers, being toobusy to give appreciation for a good job well done.Remember what the old transmission commercials used tosay, "You can pay me now or you can pay me later." Well,that is what giving appreciation is about. You can invest inyour employees now and "pay" them with sincereappreciation and achieve even better performance. Or youwill "pay" later when you see your team's performance sink,corrective actions, and overall morale decrease.

The following are five tips to giving sincere appreciate thatwill motivate your team to soar to higher level and achievemore:

1. Be Specific

In order to get the same behavior or action again you need tolet the employee know exactly what action(s) you areappreciating. For example, the typical attempt at appreciatesounds like this:

Manager: "Mike, you did a great job earlier today. Keep

up the good work!"

Mike:"Thanks" (Mike is thinking what is he complimenting

me on?)

The correct way:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report earlier

today. I can see you invested a lot of time on the report by

the detail you put in it. I really appreciate you effort.

Thank you."

Mike: "I appreciate you noticed the time a put into the

report. Thanks!" (Mike is thinking that the manager really

did read it and appreciates his effort. I will be glad to do it

again.)

As you can see the employee has a clear understanding ofwhat action the manager is showing appreciated for and he ismotivated to take on the project again.

2. Be Timely

Make sure you show appreciation as soon as possible to theaction you appreciate. The further the distant in timebetween the appreciation and the action the less impact itwill have to motivate the employee.

Manager: Mike, the report you submitted six month ago

was great. Keep up the good work. Thanks!"

Mike: "Thanks, I think. What report are you taking

about?"

Always find time to show appreciate in a timely manner.Even if you need to drop something else take time toappreciate your employees.

3. Be Fair

One of the key concerns of students in my workshops is thatwhen appreciation is shown, it doesn't seem fair. Thebiggest villain of this is the dreaded "Employee of theMonth" board. Many times when you ask the "Employee ofthe Month" what did you do to earn it they say, "I don?tknow." I have one action you must take when givingappreciation...be consistent!

* First, clearly state the rules for appreciation so that

everyone understands

how appreciate is earned.

* Second, be consistent when showing appreciation. If

one employee does a favorable action and you show

appreciation and another employee does the same or

similar action and you don't show appreciation you have

just sewn the seeds of bad morale and feelings of

favoritism.

* Third, always be on the lookout for "finding something

good" your employees do well. Once you achieve this

mindset you will always find the good and increase morale

and productivity within your team and organization.

* Fourth, be pure in your appreciation. If you to show

appreciation, don't muddle it with other communication. In

other words, don't show appreciation for one action and

then start discussing a potential corrective action for

another action. This sends mixed signals that say to the

receiver of this

communication, "I don't want any appreciation because

there is always something bad attached to it." Keep it

4. Be Public, if Possible

Appreciation is not something you hide. It works best whendone publicly. Show you appreciation in a public way inmeetings, in front of team members, and management. Thefunny thing is that once you get in the habit of doing thismany of your team members will increase the activity theyneed to take to also earn thispublic appreciation.

5. Be Relational

When I ask the question, "Why do you come to workeveryday?," in my workshops I usually get "to get paid" asthe first answer the students give. Then as we discuss itfurther it always comes down to "I feel like I make adifference" as the main answer.You see, in most cases the reason why employees decide toclimb out of bed in the morning, their toes touch the floor,and they decide to drive to work is that they feel that theymake a difference where they work.

I remember an opportunity to emcee a large sales meeting fora Fortune 500 company. I introduced a Senior Vice Presidentand he went to the lectern to address over 500 employees.He announced that the company achieved sales of $14billion. Then he quickly announced that their goal for thenext year was $17 billion. As he was talking I was looking atthe audience. They were unusually quiet and attentive.However, as I looked at them they had a glassy eye look. Irealized the problem was that the speaker was just talkingnumbers. He didn't relate how those 500+ employees made apositive difference for the company. All he needed to saywas how their sacrifice everyone translated in the success ofthe company. Along with this, they will meet the comingyears challenges only with the talents of ouremployees. So simple, but so rarely done.

Relate the action done with how if affects the team,department and organization. Let's go back to our earlierexamples to complete the appreciate process:

Manager: "Mike you did a great job on the report for the

new computer system earlier today. I can see you invested

a lot of time to do the research so that we have the

necessary information to request the computer system.

Mike, we appreciate your efforts because the new

computer system will make our team more productive so

that the department will achieve its goals and the company

will be profitable this year. Bottom line, bigger bonuses for

everyone. I look forward to seeing

your high level of work in the future. Thank you."

Mike:"Thanks. I appreciate making a difference. Please

let me know whatever I can do to help the team."

As you can see, Mike has a clear sense of achievement andwhere he fits in the company. Also, the manager encouragedMike to do the same behavior soon by saying "I lookforward to seeing your high level of work in the future."And the manager ended with a sincere "thank you."

These are five simple tips that will motivate your employeesto achieve more with a minimum amount of efforts. Startingtoday, apply these techniques and you will see a world ofdifference in your team, department, and organization.Remember, "pay" yourself with the rewards now or "pay"yourself with a low performing team later.

Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and leadingexpert in the areas of leadership, motivation, stressmanagement, customer service, and team building. You cane-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at(757) 427-7032. Goto his web site,http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter,OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Empowerment andStress Secrets for the Busy Professional."

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Arlyne Diamond has sinced written about articles on various topics from Change Management, Management and Home. About the Author:With 30+ years experience in specializing in people and processes in the workplace, Organizational Development and Human Resource Consultant, ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D can help you create an organizational structure that enables coo. Arlyne Diamond's top article generates over 60500 views. Bookmark Arlyne Diamond to your Favourites.

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