What’s the difference between trust building and team building? I heard this question recently, and it jumped out to me. Trust is at the heart of any great team accomplishment. Whether in sports, business or personal lives, trust is the foundation on which everything is built.
In my time at Service Express, trust has played a profound part in building the company. I trust the executive team members around me, and we trust the employees around us. With that, I know we can tackle any issue together.
We may argue about the issue, and that’s fine. Patrick Lencioni says, “Great teams know how to fight.” I’m a big believer in that. As I’ve said before, I value strong debate and dialogue. We fight the issues, not each other. These healthy debates come from an ego of trying to do what’s best for the organization and its person, not ourselves.
When you have an ego for yourself, it erodes trust. Don’t ask yourself what’s in it for you; that’s not how you build trust. Asking yourself, “what’s in it for everyone else?” is how you build trust.
The only way to build trust is to go through challenging times together. Everybody wants a smooth and easy ride to success, including me! I wish it were that way, but when I look back, I realize it’s not. All the best accomplishments in my career and personal life have followed hardship. My greatest blessings and biggest wins usually follow the challenging times I’ve gone through. That’s where trust is built!
Think about trust building vs. team building in your personal and professional lives. As we head into 2023, let’s all be more intentional about how we can build trust!
