Methodology

For his research, Friedman and his team at ignite80 surveyed 1,000 U.S. office workers and asked them about their attitudes, experiences, and behaviors at work, including how effective their team is and how their team's performance compared to other teams within the industry.

Any worker who scored their team as a 10 out of 10 on both effectiveness and performance were designated as a high-performing team. According to Friedman, only 8.7% of respondents gave their teams scores that qualified them as a high-performing team.

The 5 ways high-performing teams build trust

1. Immediate collaboration

When teams launch a new project, they often start by assigning tasks and then getting to work. But high-performing teams are more than three times as likely to start off a new project by discussing how they'll work together, ensuring fewer misunderstandings in the future and smoother collaboration, Friedman writes.

In his book How to Work with (Almost) Anyone, Michael Bungay Stanier recommends teams consider three prompts to start what he refers to as "Keynote Conversation" at the beginning of a project:

1.       The tasks where teammates excel

2.       Teammates' communication preferences

3.       Past collaborative experiences that have been successful and unsuccessful

Stanier also recommends proactively developing a strategy for when something goes wrong and inviting teammates to develop a plan for any potential collaboration breakdowns.

According to Friedman, these prompts don't matter as much as engaging in a dialogue on how your team will work together. "Doing so contributes to trust by signaling respect for one another's strengths and preferences, securing agreement on process, and inviting team members to speak up when they notice opportunities for improvement."

2. Keeping everyone in the loop

High-performing teams were also found to proactively share information, Friedman writes. This practice doesn't just foster trust, but has also been shown in research to improve creativity, performance, and profitability.

Friedman's study found that members of high-performing teams were significantly more likely to take on the responsibility of keeping others informed rather than expecting a manager to do it, going out of their way to keep their teammates in the loop.

3. Sharing credit

Not only is receiving praise rewarding, but it can also be a useful team-building exercise, Friedman writes. His research found that high-performing teams are more likely to share credit for their accomplishments and that teammates will acknowledge or thank those who played a part in their success.

Doing this increases the likelihood that coworkers will feel appreciated and do the same, which contributes to the experience of trust, Friedman writes.

4. Believing disagreements make them better

High-performing teams don't experience less conflict than other teams, they just interpret and respond to disagreements differently, Friedman writes.

His research found that high-performing teams are more likely to believe that disagreements in the workplace lead to better decisions rather than damage relationships, and they are more likely to rate their teammates as more effective at preventing disagreements from turning personal.

These teams see conflict as a source of strength, which makes disagreements less frightening and reduces how frequently coworkers lash out, Friedman writes.

5. Proactively addressing tension

People on high-performing teams not only interpret disagreements more adaptively, they're also more likely to take initiative in resolving those disagreements, Friedman writes.

In his study, Friedman found that high-performing teams are significantly more interested in "hearing if they upset a teammate" and are more willing to proactively reach out if "something didn't feel right between me and a teammate."

Members of high-performing teams were also significantly more likely to agree with the statements, "even the best work relationships have their ups and downs" and "most work relationships can be damaged and repaired."

"Building trust in the workplace can't and shouldn't fall solely on the shoulders of management," Friedman writes. "After all, trust isn't relayed from the top down. It's built organically on a foundation of behaviors exhibited by all team members that empower everyone to produce their best work." (Friedman, Harvard Business Review, 1/10)

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