Building Team Trust

As a team building professional, I've always been surprisingly sceptical as to whether or not a team activity day can genuinely build trust between team members.  I think my scepticism comes from two directions.  Firstly, having come from a learning and development background, I learned all of the standard "trust exercises", most of which involved blindfolds and/or catching people.  Trusting someone not to walk you into an object is quite different to trusting him or her to do their part in a big project when their work affects your ability to deliver your part.  Perhaps I wasn't the best at using those exercises, but it just seemed to me that people never really bought the message they are designed to impart.

Secondly, I think that trust is something that is earned over time, not bestowed by an external facilitator on an away day - no matter how talented that individual may be.  So, my thinking was how could a team building day really make a difference?

An event I was lead facilitator for very recently has changed my mind.  It was a small team event - just the 8 people plus an internal (though external to the team) facilitator who had engaged our services.  Any small team event brings with it the concern that you might have a very quite bunch of people who are reluctant - at least at first - to "get into" the event.  We knew that the day before had been a very "heavy" session for them with little in the way of light relief.  This could also have dampened their spirits.  We think we are pretty good at getting any sized group going, but some are easier than others are and this ticked more than a few warning boxes for us.

We needn't have worried.  We organised them randomly into two teams of four and they were into the activity from the off.  Both teams got on well with one another and, in an activity that benefits from collaboration between teams yet rarely gets it, they even spoke with one another and collaborated more than any group I've seen for a long time.  It was most impressive.  As far as i could see, everyone go on well with one another and the only conflict that came up was used productively to try to improve their decision making.

The laughter and general bonhomie, though, was misleading.  After the event when everyone else had gone, a delighted internal facilitator told me that the session had generated an unexpected benefit.  It turns out that two of the people, who happened to be on the same team, had been at loggerheads with one another for weeks and that enmity had even affected the previous day's session.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I can usually pick up on difficulties between team members, but my initial thought was that this problem had gone right over my head.  Then I realised that I hadn't missed it.  It hadn't materialised at all during our session with the group.

Despite the fact that the activity carried with it a fair amount of pressure to go with the fun, taking these two individuals away from the issues that had caused the problem in the first place had allowed them a new start.  I suspect they both wanted a new start - the deterioration in their relationship was, I gather, affecting the team as a whole - and our activity gave them the ideal opportunity.  The team away session was due to last 3 days in total and our contact was looking forward to building upon the excellent repair job that our session had enabled.

The debrief had highlighted team trust as a key topic.  I had thought at the time that they had mentioned it because they saw it as a parallel with their day-to-day situation, but I understand now that it was actually a difference.  They had seen that by trusting one another they had achieved more than they expected and wanted to take that back with them.

I wonder now how many other times our events have helped build such bridges.  I am certain this is a bridge that those most closely involved will continue to use to their own benefit as well as that of the team.  Without trust, effective teamwork isn't impossible but it is an awful lot harder to achieve.

About this Author

The author's company, Sandstone Limited, are team building specialists with a range of unique activities. Their activities are so different that they have attracted partners around the world who deliver them to Sandstone's exacting standards. They even have one that is delivered completely over the web.

Their client list is impressive and their references impeccable. You can call Sandstone on 01158 715690 for an informal chat that will help you choose the best activity for your team building requirement.

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