As if in answer to my own questions, I came across this interesting Trust building Model in the Handbook of High Performance Virtual Teams, Nemiro et al 2008, Jossey Bass, San Francisco
The three axes for building trust, virtually and in face to face teams are simple:
Competence - believe the team can do the job, involve them in decisions and make sure they have the right skills
Contractual - maintain boundaries, keep agreements, delegate appropriately
Communication - share information, tell the truth, give and receive constructive feedback, admit mistakes, maintain confidentiality
This has helped me to pinpoint where things have been going wrong in a virtual project team I have been working with over the last few weeks:
Specifically, I have had little involvement in key decisions about the project, constructive feedback has been poorly recieved and met with defensiveness rather than an admission that mistakes have been made. Furthermore, deadlines agreed have not been met and promises not kept: my trust in the team is pretty low as a result .....!!!
Is this model useful in pinpointing where trust has been betrayed and what new behaviours might rebuild relationships?
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