Trust

Leigh has put a great emphasis on trust and the type of trust consisting to include,” incentive-based trust, familiarity-based trust, similarity-based trust, social network trust and implicit trust” (119). When individuals gather to achieve a common goal, many interpersonal dynamics play a role in whether or not the team will be successful. When a team is built on the foundation of trust its member’s commitment and willingness to strive for excellence thrives. Team cohesion affects the extent to which members like one another, get along with each other, and trust and respect one another’s abilities and opinions.

Leigh makes the distinction that trust and respect are not entirely the same and the ideal attributes of members of a team is “trustworthiness” (118). Naturally a team consisting of trust and respect are desirable. Ones respect leads to the belief in that team member’s knowledge and abilities will be a valuable contribution to the team’s performance. That respect not necessary trust is viewed as” individualist, afraid of exposing their vulnerabilities for fear they might be exploited” ( 119). Furthermore, teams that are perceived as highly trusted by its member but less respectful tend to be as Leigh states,” safe but ineffective” that its members don’t see much value in its team member’s contribution (119).

One way of building trust is by look for signs that team members are well-acquainted past superficial meet-and-greet topics. Second encourage team members to equally participate in group discussions and activities rather than forming cliques or subgroups. Teams must develop an effective method of communication; a pleasant mellow conversation tones, active listening, and willingness to consider all opinions. Finally a team should implement a formal conflict resolution process in cases where a team cannot effectively resolve conflict internally.

Thompson, Leigh. Making The Team: A Guide for Managers. 5th ed. Pearson Prentice-Hall,...