Lesson 3: Building and Maintaining Trust

Precursors of Trust

Coppola, Hiltz, and Rotter (2004) stated that trust is at the foundation of all successful relationships. In order for GV teams to succeed, team members need to build & foster relationships carefully and intentionally. Similar to co-located teams, trust is critical for team members to proceed on their project activities. With trust one team member knows that he or she is able to provide feedback on any part of the project and have an open and honest dialogue regarding the pros and cons of any design. Trust allows team members to know that fellow team members will give their best efforts to accomplish a task and meet a goal. It also allows a team member to contact another team member for help and information to complete an assignment. Trust facilitates the smooth exchange of ideas and information needed to complete a project to the highest standards.