“Trust doesn’t mean that you trust that someone won’t screw up—it means you trust them when they do screw up.” Ed Catmull, CEO, Pixar

Trust is the foundation of our society, and is represented in every aspect of our daily lives, from paying for our morning coffee to putting our kids to bed at night.

Establishing trust within teams and organisations is absolutely vital to ensure sustainable long term success. At 100 & First we believe in three key pillars of building trust within teams is authenticity, logic and empathy.

1. Authenticity

“A team fused by trust and purpose is much more potent.  They can improvise a coordinated response to dynamic, real-time developments.”  General Stanley McChrystal

You are more likely to gain trust amongst your team if they believe they are interacting with the real you. Creating authenticity need not be overly complex, rather it starts with an acceptance that you aren’t meant to have to have all the answers, nor a perfect leadership style. 

Being exposed to a multitude of leadership styles and practices and creating an approach that feels right is imperative. At 100 & First we encourage leaders to create a dialogue within their teams around what works, what doesn’t and what could be added. This simple technique relies on effective communication channels but speaks directly to the fact that leadership, much like culture, is ever evolving and requires contribution from everyone. 

2. Logic 

“Leadership is the relentless pursuit of truth and ceaseless creation of trust.”  Jack Welch, Ex-CEO, General Electric

Lead with logic. In order to cultivate confidence in your team, leaders need to operate clearly within a logical framework, whereby employees are exposed transparently to the fairness, judgement and competence of the leadership group.  

In order to get the most out of a logical framework, it is vital that leaders encourage ideas and unique contributions of the employees of those they serve. This in turn creates a culture which leaves space for the full learning environment, and inclusively encourages everybody to be fulfil their potential. 

3. Empathy

“Without trust, you generate a dysfunctional organisation and teams. There is no meaningful connection between a group of people. It’s just meaningless coordination. It is trust that shifts a group of people into a team.”  Marie-Claire Ross, CEO, Trustologie

Fundamentally empathy is feeling with others, and in order to form strong relationships with your team leaders need to feel alongside their team.

By definition empathy fuels connection. Nursing scholar Theresa Wiseman, studied empathy within many different sectors and came up with the four pillars that underpin empathy. 

1. Perspective taking

2. Staying out of judgement

3. Recognising emotion

4. Communication that

Through approaching your team with a mentality that is non-judgmental, taking the time to listen, to understand their points of view will create a culture whereby they feel consistently supported.

If we lead with authenticity, logic and empathy we make it possible for employees to fully realise their own capacity and power.

If you are interested in monitoring your teams culture, we are here to help with our Cultural Health Check. A tool built to help leaders build high performing cohesive teams. Contact us via email (standout@100andfirst.com) to book in a demo with Will & Tom. 

Tom Bednall

Commercial Director