subject: Heather Muenchen Explains How To Build Confidence Within Your Office [print this page] Heather Muenchen Explains How To Build Confidence Within Your Office
The main way to keep trust within a group is a principal that I call ACE = Accountability Communication and Effectiveness. With accountability each member is ultimately responsible for the outcome of their particular section. Where there is accountability there is also trust. These two principals go hand in hand because it is how we measure effectiveness. Communication is perhaps the best way to solidify the trust of the group.
Members are less likely to issue a vote of no confidence if they are informed of the challenges and given the opportunity to contribute through brain storming. It is only when there is a lack of communication coupled with a disastrous outcome that we end up with a total breakdown of trust.
A great way to build team trust is to allow the team to interact in order to accomplish most of the objectives of the group. In my earlier example of the Presidential Cabinet we find many different members working separately in order to accomplish one goal. I can also draw additional comparison from two popular television shows American Idol & Dancing with the Stars.
On the show American Idol each contestant is judged individually in order to determine if they are considered the best of a list of contestants. But in the show Dancing with the Stars every member of the team had to work together in order to produce the best performance. What works well for American Idol or a Presidential appointment is not always the best measure of results of a group. Once all of the members are challenged to work together in order to accomplish one goal, you will find that not only will they establish and maintain trust but they will also develop a greater appreciation for the diversity of the group.
