Lesson 3: Building and Maintaining Trust

Precursors of Trust (continued)

Three key precursors to trust are ability, benevolence and integrity (Lojeski & Reilly, 2008).

Ability: This refers to the belief that the person has the knowledge and skills to do the job and do it well. This may be situation specific. You may trust a mechanic to repair your car's motor, but you probably would not trust him to fix a tooth that has been hurting you lately. Key to trusting someone is the belief that he or she has ability to complete the task and work beyond looking, talking and acting the part. It is the belief that the person is competent and will deliver what was promised.

Benevolence: This refers to the nature of the person. You believe that the person is kind and is concerned for your best interests. You believe the other person wants to do good. Benevolence is tied to the belief that the person follows a set of high acceptable principles or standards. He or she is as concerned about doing a good job on the project as you are.

Integrity: This integrity allows you to know how the person will act and what he or she will say in a given situation. It ensures that the person has high professional standards and continually seeks to do the best job possible. A team member with integrity reassures other team members by acting with the best interests of the team in mind. It is this integrity that inspires the confidence of other team members and clients.

These precursors to trust combine to form and strengthen a bond of trust between team members. Knowing that a team member has the integrity to commit to an action that will be for the good of the team builds trust. As one demonstrates his knowledge and skills to complete assignments and tasks, one gains in trust of that team member.

Many of these precursors to trust develop as one interacts face-to-face. Teams will often use retreats, group activities, and in-service training as a time to build and strengthen trust. However, members of a GV team often never physically meet other team members. If they do, it is usually for a short period of time. As a result other approaches need to be used for team members to build and sustain team trust. Physical indicators of trust are limited or not possible at all. As a result trust building on a GV team focuses more on interpersonal communication and completion of tasks than on physical actions.