Virtual Teams For Dummies

Chapter 12

Building Trust and Rapport

IN THIS CHAPTER

Building (and repairing) mutual respect among team members

Practicing cultural appreciation on global teams

Using retreats and off sites to provide sacred face time

Creating connection

“Trust is the denominator of efficiency.” I heard this quote from a company leader who I worked with as we discussed the impact of trust on manager-employee relationships and relationships with customers. Trust creates efficiency, and this quote hits the nail on the head when considering all of the skills, behaviors, and actions that make a team successful. In my experience working with thousands of team members, you have no chance of long-term team success if trust doesn’t exist. It’s the foundation of a healthy team. On a virtual team, trust is even more important because high levels of trust and social capital are established upfront. In fact, lack of trust on a virtual team will derail productivity, engagement, and results faster than you can say Usain Bolt.

Everyone knows that building trust isn’t easy, but destroying it is extremely easy. ...