Team performance is unsustainable without high levels of trust. To build long-term sustainable performance, you need to start by building trust. Here is our 5 top ways to increase levels of trust within your team:
1. Lead by example
If you do not trust your team members, why would they trust you, and each other? Believe in your team, trust them to do what you need them to do, and consistently behave in a way that harbours trust. By that we mean, listen to others when they are talking, respect your team, ensuring they feel heard and valued, and enjoy getting to know your team on a personal level. When your team, sees you, their leader, behaving in this way, it will encourage them to behave positively too.
2. Create a psychologically safe environment
For there to be trust, your employees’ need to feel safe. They need to know that when they share their thoughts and ideas, they will be listened to, and they will never feel as though their contribution of ideas does not matter. Create a culture where you share your differences openly, and foster a culture of communication, openness, and inclusion.
Meet directly with employees regularly and directly communicate with the whole team. Regularly gauge sentiments and enlist feedback during weekly chats or informal events, but most importantly act on this feedback. If your employees know they can approach you with issues and concerns, and that these issues and concerns are dealt with appropriately, trust will be built between you and your employees.

3. Value your employees
Show your employees that their contribution matters, and they are valued within your organisation. Reward positive behaviour, and teamwork but also illustrate they are of value to you by going the extra mile. When was the last time you went the extra mile for an employee?
And we are not necessarily talking about grandiose gestures such as exorbitant bonuses or lavish gifts. Did you wish someone happy birthday, take them to lunch to celebrate closing a good deal or better yet, offer them a helping hand when they were swamped? Going the extra mile for an employee is a simple way to set the tone for the entire organisation. It is also how you gain lifelong employee loyalty and the benefit of the doubt when the going gets tough.
Additionally, develop an ownership mentality: When individuals understand the boundaries in which they can operate, as well the direction the company is headed, they feel empowered with a freedom to decide and act, and most often make the right choices. Value and trust the decisions your employees’ make.
4. Provide opportunities for your team to get to know one another outside of work
The right tone for the company starts with having a team that supports each other and feels supported by their company. In case problems arise, colleagues then have the confidence to speak up together, they work together when they have backlogs and they value each other’s inputs and support from their teams, managers and leaders.
As a manager or leader, make socialising a top priority for your teams to engage. Ensure you value

your team and their relationships with one another. A meeting might not necessarily be the best place for your team to share details about their families, and their personal interests. Encourage social events for your teams to get to know one another on a personal level, and to have shared experiences. Shared experiences are known to bring people closer.
Opportunities could involve team days out and social drinks during/after work. When your team builds stronger connections with one another, they are more likely to trust one another. And a team that has higher levels of trust, is more likely to perform better. (see our recent blog post on why teams with high levels of trust consistently perform better).
Covid-19 and remote working has impacted how connected some teams are feeling. If your teams are working from home provide opportunities for your remote teams to engage. This will help to build a genuine human connection with remote workers and builds trust and inclusion.
Working from home for prolonged periods of time especially under the current circumstances, is going to take its toll on peoples’ mental health. The only way to mitigate this is to build a virtual community among your employees where everyone can stay connected 24×7 – Remember to keep your virtual community informal, allowing your employees to speak their mind and maintain their workplace camaraderie even if they are confined to their homes.
5. Use people analytics software to measure and improve levels of trust
It is easier to attract and build an esprit de corps and promote the right behaviours when an organisation has an effective platform to manage human capital. Culture reinforcing, relationship and performance analysis software, really helps to attract and retain the best people.
MyPeople are leaders in understanding the culture of organisations, identifying opportunities, risks and providing the tools to improve individual and team performance. By measuring team behaviours, team alignment, and team relationships, we enable sustained growth for your organisation through informed insight that allows you to measure trust, and then improve on it.
The insights and AI in our Software as a Service (SaaS) Analytics platform have helped teams win 40 Olympic & World Championship titles, 3 Tour de France victories, several Rugby Six Nations Grand Slams & Tournament wins and 2 undefeated British Lions tours.
Want to measure and improve levels of trust at your organisation? Contact us to find out more about our people analytics software.