When you think about building trust, most people imagine hard work and respecting other people’s time. And those are definitely two important components of building trust. However, it’s also necessary to be transparent about your intentions and to show others that you have their best interests in mind. This kind of behavior will help people build trust with you, even when the outcome is not guaranteed to be positive.
There are some jobs where it’s critical to have high levels of practical trust — such as firefighters and doctors working in an emergency room. Without this type of trust, lives could be lost. However, even in less life-or-death situations, teams that have a high level of practical trust can perform better than teams with low levels of trust because they are more collaborative and productive.
Emotional trust is a bit more complicated to build, and it involves developing strong connections with your team members. This kind of trust is what helps your team get to know each other on a deeper level and feel comfortable sharing their honest thoughts and feelings with one another. It is the kind of trust that allows your team to feel like they have each other’s backs and won’t judge them for setbacks.
Creating a culture of emotional trust requires the support of leadership. To build emotional trust, you can organize group activities that require team members to connect with each other. For example, you can divide your team into pairs and ask them to take turns staring into each other’s eyes for a minute. Then, they can discuss how this exercise made them feel more connected to one another. building trust