Is trust assumed when working in teams or does trust have to be earned among the team members?
In order for us to be able to answer the question of, is trust assumed when working in teams or does trust have to be earned, we will need to have a clear understanding of the definition of trust. Trust can be defined as “a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviors of another”(Mollering 2004). With a clear understanding of the term trust, it can be assumed that when working in a team environment, trust is something that can be both assumed and at times earned. If there is an agreement of the expectations between the members within the team, then we can assume that trust amongst the team members will be present. At times, trust may have to be earned amongst team members due to personality conflicts and or due to a negative expectation of the intentions or behaviors of another.
As a manager within my organization, I have to multiple levels of trust between my co-workers, executive management and my employees (Mollering 2004). Trust for my employees is something that I have to assume with my employees when they demonstrate the required skills to successfully complete a job or task. With the successful completion of a job or task, the level of trust that I give to my employees can increase. There are times when the trust that I give to a employee will need to be earned as they have not shown me that they have the abilities to successfully complete a job. The two examples that I’ve provided
Consider how trust is lost when working in teams and how to keep trust among your team members.
When working in a team environment the risk of loosing trust amongst a team member can be lost due to several reasons. It seems that most trust issues within a team typically come from the exploitation of a team member’s vulnerability being exploited.
In my professional life, trust by me is...