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| THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST |
Ref: A/1546
Date: 1/3/2009
Contributor: Mark Woollcott, PM Lifeline
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| The establishment of trust in project teams is highly desirable and when established can help to create a fast moving, efficient, and dynamic team behaviour. Mark Woollcott considers the benefits and barriers. |
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| TRUST ME! |
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Trust in Project teams and Project Environments
Definition
Trust: Reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, reliability etc of a person or thing. (Collins English Dictionary)
A person or thing in which our confidence or faith is placed (Collins English Dictionary)
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The establishment of trust in project teams is highly desirable and when established can help to create a fast moving, efficient, and dynamic team behaviour. This results in projects that are more likely to meet expectations such as timeliness, accuracy and resource efficiency. However as human beings we have become distrustful and as a result over self-reliant. We realise that in general we can only trust ourselves and of course we will often fall short of even our own expectations. It is the purpose of this article to highlight the qualities inherent in trust and to highlight ways of accelerating along the path to trust.
Irrespective of whether we are talking about an organisation a project team an individual or in fact a machine, the characteristics of trust and trustworthiness are the same. These characteristics are as follows
Trust
Is a personal attribute that holds as a belief and assumption that the object of our trust will:
· Perform to the best of its ability
· Receive, question (clarify) and act on instructions
· Provide precise and timely reports on the status of the activity
· Report accurately on any factor affecting the desired outcome.
The ability to trust is a powerful tool in the project manager’s toolbox the objects of our trust naturally benefit from being trusted and this in turn engenders a sense of trustworthiness in the object of our trust
Trustworthiness
Is a set of personal attributes that can be developed in any individual
· To carry out an instruction and to reliably deliver the result both in terms of quality timeliness and cost.
· To continue to perform under adverse conditions
· To report accurately and dispassionately on any factors that may affect the desired outcome
Barriers to complete Trust
· Our experience informs us that we have trusted in the past and were disappointed
· We fear failure and so attempt to control the distrusted object
· We do not trust ourselves so project this on to the distrusted object
· We sabotage ourselves by wanting to have control and therefore all the credit for success
· We hide our own inadequacies by blaming others overtly or covertly
· We are not open about our weaknesses and do not believe they can be rectified
· We are fearful that our weaknesses may be exposed
· We have experience of not being trusted
· We are not confident in ourselves and so cover up and fail to communicate
· The less trustworthy we feel the less we are trusted
· We hide our own inadequacies by blaming others overtly or covertly
As human beings we have finely attuned senses that tell us whether we are trusted or not and we respond accordingly.
Summary
It is clear that Trust and trustworthiness go hand in hand both in individual, team and corporate behaviour, where there are weak links in the Trust chain the organisation can only travel as fast as the slowest individual. All individuals, teams, and corporations are judged by the outcomes of trust or lack of it and may be summed up as follows.
· Did the Individual, team or Organization do what it says it does
The rewards of developing clear trust and trustworthiness may not always be self-apparent here are some of the benefits
· If you do what you say you will do you will be asked to do it again
· By doing what you say you are going to you gain self esteem
· Projects will run more smoothly and will be more enjoyable
· Because trust is developed there will be less fear in the project environment
· Co-operation in trust encourages greater responsibility and creativity.
· Any lessons learned about trust in the workplace naturally transfer to our personal and private lives
Trust is the keystone of co-operation we have lived without it for too long, and the effects are all too visible. There are many simple ways of encouraging its development and every small effort has widespread effects, Start today!
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