Building Trust In Teams: 5 Trust Building Exercises For Teams

The words "trust-building exercises" tend to get an eye-roll reaction for employees who want nothing to do with learning more about their peers or speaking more about themselves to a crowd. While these exercises may have gotten a bad rap, there are proven benefits to involving your team in trust-building and having them get to know their teams. So let's take the eye-rolling out of trust-building and have your team leave the exercise feeling empowered and united.

The Psychology of Trust: How it Works

Trust is the backbone of any relationship and is imperative in professional relationships. Everyone from management to HR and marketing should have trust in their colleagues. Trust can ensure a positive atmosphere, better employee engagement, and a sense of camaraderie, elevate your business's morale and boost productivity. According to Forbes, compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout.

The Benefits of Building Trust in Teams

We know trust plays a significant role in how well relationships work, and when a team of people is working toward a greater goal, like your employees are, it's crucial to build on that trust and create a sense of community. Here are some additional benefits for building confidence in your employees:

A culture of transparency and accountability

When everyone trusts one another, there is a sense of transparency and accountability. Because everyone feels connected, your team members want to do well for themselves and the group. Trusting one another also means employees feel comfortable going to one another for help, questions on things, and even being able to say, "I am unsure how to do this." Having transparency and accountability in your workplace will help your team flourish.

Stronger relationships and communication

Trust builds relationships, and healthy relationships have effective communication. Communication is so important within your organization. A clear, concise understanding of who is assigned what tasks, what is expected of individuals in their roles, and the best way to accomplish tasks will allow your business to thrive and meet goals.

More effective problem-solving and decision-making

Colleagues that trust one another are more likely to collaborate and come together in challenging moments. Talking about problems and how to solve them or making decisions as a team is invaluable.

Increased productivity and team satisfaction

Teams who work well together and trust one another are more likely to get tasks completed and done correctly.

Leadership's Role in Building Trust

Let's revisit the early comment about how trust-building exercises typically have a bad rap. Debunking this train of thought is the perfect task for your leadership team. Step in and remind your staff of the importance of trust. Beyond coaxing your staff into enjoying exercises to build trust, it's your job to mirror trust while running the operation. Show your employees daily that you trust they can do the job they were hired to do. Try not to micromanage but keep your staff accountable in a positive manner. Allow them to make suggestions and implement them where they make sense. Thank them for their role in your organization and give them a sense of appreciation. Leading by example and showing your team you trust them will be contagious.

Five Trust-Building Exercises For Teams

Here's a quick list of practical trust exercises you can try with your team. Don't forget, focus on the fun and let the "togetherness" come after the fact. You will find less resistance and more willingness to participate. Here are a few suggestions:

Scavenger Hunt

Trust Walk

Egg Drop

Pinball

Three Truths and a Lie

Overcoming Challenges in Building Trust

Of course, because trust challenges are infamous, there may be some challenges you may face while doing so. Because there is always a solution, we've put together a list of some of the challenges you may face and how to resolve them correctly:

Addressing diversity and cultural differences/unconscious biases

Your talented team is diverse and has many different cultures and opinions. This is a beautiful thing! Because of this, there may be different opinions and strong emotions behind those opinions. Especially when there is a lot of open dialogue in your trust exercises, remind everyone to remain respectful and open-minded and that you are all one team. In the end, everyone will understand each other differently and even learn something.

Coping with remote and virtual teams

Today, the way our staff gets together can look different. Many companies have adopted remote workers and virtual contracted teams. This does not mean trust-building exercises are inapplicable to you – you have to get a bit more creative. Luckily, because we're living in such technologically advanced times, it's easy to get everyone together in "one room." With some planning in advance and researching effective communication trust-building exercises, your team can bond just as well virtually as they would in person. So don't count your virtual squad out!

Consistency is Key: How to Keep the Trust Alive

A thriving business has many to-do's, and it's easy to let trust exercises fall through the cracks or become inconsistent. While that is normal for many companies, the success of your team's morale must make trust-building a priority and a consistent part of your schedule.

Making trust-building exercises a regular part of team building

Trust building doesn't have to be every month. Just set a schedule, like quarterly or bi-yearly, and make sure you see it through. Making it a regular part of your schedule on a cadence that works best for you will ensure it remains a priority.

Measuring the success of trust-building efforts

Do you find your team is most productive in the weeks following a trust exercise? Set up some measurables that can determine the success of trust-building activities. For example, you may notice communication is still lacking or, on the contrary, is thriving. Building out ways to determine success with your exercises will allow your team to see the significance of these exercises.

 Building Trust to Build Better Business

Trust-building exercises are a great place to start bonding with your team and helping them realize they are all working toward the same goal in a safe space. Do you want to know where your processes and protocols stand? GCE offers Fractional Human Resource services that can help you build your team and supply you with ideas to update your systems and policies. Let’s build your team up.