We know that without trust it’s doubtful the team will succeed, much less achieve the overall mission. But what do you do when trust is lacking? In-depth books have been written on the topic, but I would like to submit a simple proposal: Trust = f(x), where x = distance.
Why distance? Let’s take a simple example from the corporate world. Let’s say someone from another department sends me an email and says “Hey Daniel, I was told to ask you about your recent report. Can I get a copy? Thanks in Advance, ..”? What do you think is going through my head right now?
- Who is this person?
- Who told them to reach out to me?
- What are they going to do with the information in my report?
There is quite a bit of distrust going on, isn’t there? My head is spinning with questions, mostly negative.
Now let’s take this scenario in a positive direction. To continue, I look at the person’s signature line and see her name is Kendra and she works in the PMO group. Okay, that gives me a little more familiarity. Next I notice her phone number and, after a few minutes, I decide to call her. A perky voice answers the phone, and I quickly discover that Kendra is new to her team, and her boss Vicky (whom I know) recommended that she reach out to me for a good example of a document to help bring her up to speed. I’m immediately taken with her enthusiasm, plus I empathize with her starting out in a new role. In no time I’m agreeing with her and I send her a copy of my document.
What just happened? Within only a few minutes I went from distrust to trust. Why? I learned her name (Kendra), her context (new to the job) and her rationale (Vicky asked her to) and ended up learning other things about Kendra, like where she lives, how she got into PMO, etc. In other words, we closed the gap.
As you probably ascertained, “distance” can take on several meanings. It can literally be physical (e.g., “don’t play with those kids on the other side of town”), but often it is more relational. In my example, Kendra works in the same building so physical distance isn’t the issue. But there’s a “relationship gap” – a distance of the mind, so to speak. But it’s a gap nonetheless. Think of the term “inner circle”. Of course there isn’t a literal circle, with people on either side of a painted line. But ask anyone who’s been “on the outside looking in” — the inner circle is a real phenomenon. I see this as another example of a relationship gap.
There are still other types of gaps. Think of the term “knowledge gap”. Imagine you owned an exotic sports car, and one day there’s a disturbing sound coming from the engine. Are you going to take the vehicle to your family mechanic? Doubtful. It’s one thing to work on your Honda, but you don’t trust him to work on the Lamborghini. He would first need to become “Lamborghini-certified”, then probably work on a few vehicles before warming up to the idea.
So how to close the distance? The gap must be crossed, somehow. Anything that brings people together (literally or figuratively) is a good start. Why do companies invest so much in team building? Why do bosses fly out their staff for corporate events? Or in the knowledge case, it might mean showing tangible efforts to gain experience in the area of concern.
Here’s a takeaway: think of someone who resides inside your circle of trust, and someone else who does not. Ask yourself why, and for the latter case, what could you do to close that gap?