The business world has discovered the value of teams. Teams come
up with better solutions, brainstorm ideas, edit and review each
other's work, and capitalize on each other's areas of expertise and
interest. But well-functioning teams are not born—they're built. The
foundation of a good team is rapport and trust. Listed below are
four strategies you can use to build rapport and trust with your
team members.
1. Assessing and clarifying intentions
Clarifying your
intention is important in building rapport and trust. If your intent
is open and honest communication, that will come through.
Alternatively, if your intent in communicating is to win your point,
embarrass the other person, or send a "zinger," then this will come
through, regardless of your choice of words or your declaration of
innocence. It's also important to clarify the intention of the other
person. Make sure you understand what was intended as well as what
was said. To do this, you can summarize and paraphrase what the
person said.
2. Using questions and feedback
Don't expect people to
be able to read your mind. Use questions and feedback to clarify
communication. Even though you may have virtuous intent,
communication can be easily garbled. The words you choose, your body
language, your tone, and what you hoped to say are only half the
message. The receiver interprets the message and translates it
according to what he thinks he heard and what he expected to hear. A
simple follow-up on a conversation can help you ensure that your
message was properly received.
3. Clarifying roles
Confusion over roles is another
pothole for teams, leading to frustration and tension among team
members, as well as distrust, lack of communication, and hidden
agendas. False assumptions about who will do what also can cause
important tasks to fall through the cracks. To prevent this
confusion, you can review roles, clarify responsibilities, and be
sure team members know each other's backgrounds and strengths, so
they can draw upon the expertise available in the group. Learning
about each other's roles builds flexibility, understanding, and
collaboration among team members.
4. Taking responsibility for creating the
relationship
Finally, take the initiative in building trust
and rapport. People on project teams must work closely. Keep
relationships in focus as you pursue project tasks. Take
responsibility for creating relationships by:
taking an interest in people
demonstrating respect and politeness
arriving on time and being prepared
showing appreciation
making time for people
looking for similarities and valuing differences.
Project teams have two equally critical components: tasks
and relationships. For teams to be successful, they have to be able
to work well together. The best way to encourage this necessary
collaboration is to build rapport and trust on a project team. By
using the strategies described above, you can build a stronger, more
effective project team.
Course: Project Team
Communication Skills
Topic: Building Rapport and Trust
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