A couple of weeks ago I was sat with my daughter in a café garden as she drank her Green Grom smoothie (don’t ask), when a Robin hopped onto her table. He fearlessly ate her croissant crumbs, before finding another unsuspecting tourist to bother. He’d decided that she was unlikely to be a bird-eating predator and so it was worth risking hopping onto the table next to her.
But what has a daring Robin got to do with team performance? Well, he was prioritising trust over fear – so had an advantage over more cautious birds.
Which is what us humans have evolved to do too – and although we may get ripped off by the odd banking scam, it normally works out OK. We tend to cooperate for the betterment of ourselves and the wider group.
Leaders and teams that play to this and establish environments where trust is the norm will see people letting their guard down to collaborate towards a shared goal.
👎 Defensiveness and low trust = each person for themselves.
✔ Openness to experiment and high trust = teams that collaborate for better results
Culture guru Gustavo Rosetti has the idea to have a ‘mistakes policy’. “Having clear rules of engagement removes the fear of being punished. Be explicit that nothing will happen.”
And trust develops as relationships build. So, at your next team meeting ask everyone to share something new they learned or discovered in the previous week – you’ll be surprised what conversations this sparks.
What other ways can you channel your Robin and increase trust in your team?
And if you’re struggling for ideas, hit reply and I’ll give you another 2 more trust building suggestions to experiment with!