| In the past, we developed teams by putting
people together and letting them spend time learning about each other before we charged
them with completing assignments. In spite of all our best effort, some teams were more
successful than others.
In order to be honest and forthcoming with others, a level
of trust must exist. The less we trust, the more guarded and self-protective we become.
That’s one of many reasons it’s a challenge to work effectively in teams. The
challenge increases tremendously when the people involved haven’t been given the
opportunity to get to know each other personally.
Today’s workplace consists of people who have never
met each other working on projects. Indeed many of them live in other countries. Those
that might live close to their corporate headquarters often telecommute and are rarely
available for face-to-face meetings.
In addition, the team is frequently led by a project
manager – who has a dotted line relationship to the others and thus very little
authoritative leverage. The project manager can only manage through persuasion and
negotiation – two methods requiring a high level of trust.
Trust is not easy to develop in the best of circumstances
– when working with distant teams the problems increase tremendously.
Professor Larry Leifer at Stanford University discovered
that when he had students working in teams from different locations members, complained
that they were doing more work than other teammates. When camcorders were placed in their
cubicles so that they could see each other at work, the complaints diminished
considerably. Apparently, the very act of seeing someone situated at their keyboard
increased the belief that they were working hard.
Visual clues are critically important. The more contact we
have with another human being (assuming that they are basically trustworthy), the easier
it is to trust them. One could even hypothesize that at some unconscious level, our sense
of smell plays a part in what has to be seen as primarily an emotionally (psychologically)
based decision.
Sound or voice quality is less effective than visual clues.
When we know someone only due to our telephone interaction with them, we develop less
personal or positive feelings than when we actually sit across the table from them.
We also have the variable of “low-context” and
“high-context” cultures. Low context cultures are those in which business is
conducted without developing personal relationships. This is akin to our decision to buy
something from a discount or big box store. High context cultures are those in which
relationships are developed long before the business discussions commence. You might
relate this to your decision to work with a consultant, or a decorator, or even shopping
regularly in a small private boutique store. This adds another dimension to the problems
of building trust between people here in the states and their counterparts in Asia or
other parts of the world.
Given these problems, here are my top seven tips to
developing trust in distant teams:
1. Allow members of the team to take the time to get to
know each other on a somewhat personal level.
2. Have in-house discussions, at all locations, about what is proper to ask and discuss
and what crosses the line into intrusive or inappropriate.
3. Share pictures – not only of the staff, but also of their families. Most people
are family-oriented and grow to like (and trust) each other when they start to see
pictures of their children and to hear stories about them.
4. Send your managers to the locations of their team members whenever possible. Although
this is an expense, the potential value in developing trust, respect, and therefore
greater levels of understanding and productivity is immeasurable.
5. Teach cultural diversity. Let the people in the various locations around the world
learn as much as possible about the behaviors, customs, and expectations of those in other
areas with whom they work.
6. If you have telecommuters who can be brought into the office once or twice a month, be
sure to have as many face-to-face meetings as possible with them.
7. Use videoconferences and video-cams where feasible.
In other words, break some of the old rules that demand
full focus on work related conversations only. Take the time and create the structure that
enables people to develop relationships that lead to trust. This leads to cooperation,
understanding, and higher productivity and creativity. |
