Oh, the office. Remember the days? It would be just another Tuesday morning and we would be hard at work at our desks, getting ready for our next meeting with our team face-to-face. No more is that the case, and while we’re settling into working from home (or wherever we may be), these interactions may certainly be missed. How is it then, that we make up for the lost connection in between meetings that simply isn’t made up while in the waiting room before our host starts the meeting? Consider these three tips when looking to build trust with your remote team.
1. See people as people, and not just employees or team members
One group that I was working with earlier this year scheduled a weekly roundtable at the start of each week to share with each other how their weekend went and what they’re most excited about for the week ahead. By seeing people as something bigger than their title and living the rich life they do, we get to see not just what our team produces but learn more about what matters to them, too. Trust is built not just from the work we do, but who we are as well. Take the time to learn more about who the team is, not just what they do.
2. Practice Radical Honesty
In the co-creator of Netflix’s Culture Deck Patty McCord’s smash hit, Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, Patty shares her practice of Radical Honesty. Radical honesty is just as it sounds: the idea of not holding back if you’re asked of your opinion. Instead of avoiding conflict and being too nice, try being honest, supporting your honesty with details as to why you feel the way you do, and be as respectful as possible at the same time. To build trust with our team, others have to know that we aren’t going to nod and agree every time we’re asked something. There is an obligation to ourselves, our team, and the company to bring our best. Too, being honest and sharing an alternative to what was proposed may result in something better for everyone, and a stronger relationship is built.
3. Ask for candid feedback
As my friend and CEO of INDOCHINO Drew Green said to me, sometimes the best way to build trust is to give it first. That’s how Drew has been able to nearly open a showroom a month for 4 years in the middle of a retailpocalypse! By asking for feedback, what we’re really doing is signalling to the person we’re asking feedback from that we trust them. By asking for feedback we show that we value their opinion and want to make appropriate adjustments to improve the relationship. Think for a second, would you ask for feedback from someone you didn’t value or trust?
The way I see it, the way we look at building trust is a little backwards. Trust should be earned, right? Not anymore. I believe that trust should be something we’re given by default and then lost. Trusted until proven untrustworthy, not the other way around.
In our virtual first world, the little conversations with our teams to build rapport and trust is harder and harder to have, especially when we have new people joining our team that we haven’t met before. If we can get to know who they are as an individual, be honest with them, and ask for candid feedback, we’ll be well on our way to building a strong remote team that trusts each other.
Questions to ponder:
- What do you know about your team members outside of what they do for work?
- Are you being honest with your team or just nice?
- How are you giving trust to your team?
- What are you doing to go above and beyond?
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