6 The Importance of Trust

Some students may feel that it’s not necessary or ‘worth it’ to get to know and develop trust within their teams during group projects, especially when a project may only be in progress for a short period of time only. However, when completing our survey created by the student group who authored Entrepreneurial Action Spring 2022, 83.3% of respondents agreed (50% Agree, 33.3% Strongly Agree) with the statement  a “lack of trust or comfort among team members has been a difficulty in group projects based on my experience” (Chart 1). 

Chart 1: Student Survey – Lack of Trust or Comfort

CHART SUMMARY: 50% of students Agree, 33.3% Strongly Agree, 11.1% are Neutral, 5.8% Disagree with the statement.

Consider the impacts of lack of team trust, even for a short assignment. Without trust, group members can end up “protecting themselves and their interests,” and there is a lack of collaboration and creative thinking (Mindtools, n.d., para 8). What could this actually look like? Perhaps you ask your team for assistance brainstorming for your section of a project, but other members are focused solely on completing their sections. 

OPTIONAL – Scholarly Article: “The relationship between trust and team performance.” *Note: Sign in through Kwantlen Polytechnic University or other institution is required to access this article. Some key elements of this article: “Where there is a lack of trust, there will be failings in communication, delegation, empowerment, and quality” (Erdem et al, 2003, para 1.) 2 of the 4 organizations studied demonstrated a positive correlation between trust and team performance, as well as an inverse relationship between “critical errors” and trust (Erdem et al, 2003) 2 of the 4 organizations did not support the finding above; more research of other factors is required (Erdem et al, 2003)

Building an understanding of trust within a group is  beneficial to do before graduation, so you’re equipped for success in the workplace. 

Psychological Safety

Psychological safety, a concept that will be discussed later in this module, is improved with increased trust. Essentially, this means team members feel safe within the group to takes “risks” such as challenging a groupmate’s idea (Brownlee, 2019).  Challenging ideas leads to innovation, which means overall work quality goes up.

Questioning

Increased trust increases the amount of questioning between group members (Brownlee, 2019). When there is increased questioning occurring within a group, there is better decision-making, better end results, stronger communication (eg. individuals ask for clarity), and better innovation (Brownlee, 2019). One huge benefit to working within a team, is that your team members bring knowledge and skills you may be lacking. Questioning and providing constructive feedback are important tools that allow each member of the team to bring out the best in each other’s ideas.

Constructive Feedback

Similarly, more constructive feedback is exchanged when there is high trust, leading to better communication and better results. See Module 2 for more information on constructive feedback. Consider your own comfort level with both providing and receiving constructive feedback. Have you ever had an idea on how a team member could improve their work, or  had someone on your team make a suggestion that made your work much better? Think about the difference in the end result of a group project within a team that openly provides feedback and a team who doesn’t .

Goodwill

Communication, especially in a post-pandemic world that is much more virtual, can come with challenges. For example, it can be difficult to interpret the tone of written messages such as emails, as you have fewer non-verbal cues. Luckily, when there is trust within your team, you build “goodwill” in your communications (Brownlee, 2019). For example, in a team with low trust you may be quick to interpret a text as unfriendly, or even aggressive – whereas when there is goodwill between you and the sender, you may assume misunderstanding and seek further clarification (Brownlee, 2019).  

Quicker Results 

In a team that has high trust, less time is spend revisiting miscommunications or revisiting project work, so work is completed faster (Brownlee, 2019). Imagine that you missed an important part of the project criteria. Perhaps your teammate noticed, but chose not to say anything; then, you realize your mistake the night before the deadline. Now, extra time is required to rework the content that could have been resolved much earlier. 

Knowledge-sharing

When trust exists within a team, members are more willing to share their knowledge, communicate and assist each other (Mindtools, n.d.). In a group project, your group members can be a huge asset to help you understand both the project itself, and other course content. A team that has high communication and knowledge sharing yields more learning within the group. 

Try this activity to check your understanding:

REFERENCES 

Brownlee, D. (2019, Oct 20). 5 Reasons Why Trust Matters On Teams. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2019/10/20/5-reasons-why-trust-matters-on-teams/?sh=2f41b422d605

 Erdem, F., Ozen, J., & Atsan, N. (2003). The relationship between trust and team performance. Work Study, 52(6), 337-340. https://doi.org/10.1108/00438020310502633 

MindTools. (n.d). Building Trust Inside Your Team: Ways to Improve Team Cohesion. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/building-trust-team.htm#:~:text=One%20way%20to%20build%20trust,family%2C%20or%20about%20their%20hobbies.