Are trust issues derailing your teamwork?

Team work can be hard work but it is well worth the effort! And there are many barriers to effective and harmonious team work. Identifying and removing these barriers is an important on-going exercise for you and your team in order to maintain a high level of team work. These barriers will derail your efforts, cause conflict and at worst, can harm patient outcomes.

Trust is a crucial element in team work. A lack of trust in the team or between employer/manager and staff, is very concerning because trust is the foundation of a productive and effective team.

Along with trust, a lack of open and honest communication is also a concerning barrier to team work. With trust comes the ability to communicate openly and respectfully for the betterment of the team, the practice and ultimately patient care.

What happens within the team and in the practice when there is a lack of trust and open communication? What are the signs of a low-trust environment? These are the signs to look for:

• Withdrawn and disengaged team members
• Lack of confidence and increased doubt
• Focus on individual success
• Controlling behaviour, micro-management
• Jobs take longer, seem harder, learning more difficult
• Decrease in commitment

If you see these signs in yourself or your team, you can acknowledge this and commit to making changes to build trust once again. To begin the process of rebuilding trust, ask your team where they feel trust is missing or lacking. An anonymous survey will give you the most honest feedback. 

Find out by asking:

• Do you feel safe and supported in the workplace?
• Do you feel you can voice your opinion, feedback or ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment?
• Is there mutual respect between all team members?
• Is trust, respect and honesty part of your culture, are they important values to you all?
• Are you willing to work on areas of conflict and resolve your trust issues?

Trust is the bridge between the business' need for results and the individual's human need for connection.  The question is, what does trust feel and look like? It's a complex value because it can mean different things to different people.

To work on trust, you need to find out what trust means to you and to each individual within your practice. You need to ask yourselves:

• How do I show trust in others? I will show trust to others by....
• How do I feel trusted by others? I will show my trust by...

When you have a high-trust environment, you will benefit from:

• Better performance and motivation
• Self-confidence and confidence in others
• Feeling supported, can learn and grow
• Freely sharing information and skills, collaboration
• Feeling heard and understood

As a team you can start the conversation around trust. The first step is acknowledging there are issues and committing to working on it.

Discuss how important trust is in your practice - is it a top priority value?

• Is it part of your documented culture and values?
• How does low-trust impact your team, relationships, performance and productivity? 
• What effects does low-trust have on the quality of patient care?
• What changes need to happen to make improvements?
• What are the benefits of improving trust and open communication for your team, patients and the practice?

You can learn more about building a harmonious and productive team with Renata's Team Work short course. A step-by-step guide you can use to facilitate team training.