Starting a new job can be scary. With so many hours of work, moving into a new role can be nerve-wracking – it’s a big life change, almost like changing cities or starting a new relationship!
To prepare, improve your skills or learn everything you need to know about your new business. And of course these things are important – maybe that’s why you got the job!
But perhaps more important is your relationship with your new colleagues. Your skills define how you work, but the bonds you form with your new teammates define how well you work together. And teamwork is the key to success within a team; it’s literally how you do things.
That’s why building trust is one of the most important things you can do to ensure success in your new role. In this article, you will learn why trust is important and you will learn simple, fact-based ways to build it, without doing the things that will bring you back and hoping your new colleagues will catch you.
Trust is important to the team (Trust us)
Trust is very important in teams because it comes down to psychological security. It may sound dramatic – after all, it’s not like being shaped by a bear while sitting in your new office or outdoor setting!
However, the absence of physical threats does not necessarily guarantee that you will feel safe. To do a good job, you need to know that it’s not okay to make a mistake or ask a stupid question – you don’t see the consequences of showing weakness.
Good teamwork happens when people feel involved, creative and relaxed; when ideas flow and everyone plays on each other’s strengths. It takes confidence to get to a place where you can ask your teammates for help, bounce ideas off each other, and generally bring out the best in each other without fear of judgment.
A reliable workplace is positive, safe and comfortable. And, of course, this means a better job – a high level of trust is associated with less stress in the workplace, more innovation, faster decision making, and greater job satisfaction.
Think about it: if you are not safe, you are not productive. You are looking around for the fastest way to get away from the bear!
Check the trust of the existing team
Since trust is all about communication, it’s not hard to see how much people trust each other through body language or even by communicating via messaging apps like Slack. Don’t ignore your new teammates like a hawk, of course, but by paying attention to how they all work together, you can estimate how reliable your workplace is and how you can expect it to fit in.
What is the general culture of your new job? Do people seem relaxed, smiling and casual with each other? If you’re new to a remote team, does everyone use video during calls and what does their virtual communication look like during the day? Do your new colleagues ask for help when they need it and follow up on new tasks with questions and requests for clarification?
According to the Harvard Business Review, trust teams reflect and recognize each other’s strengths because they see colleagues as allies rather than threats. That doesn’t mean they disagree; in fact, trusted teammates feel safe to respectfully disagree, and the conflict does not become personal.
Obviously all jobs are different. People who behave less relaxed and professional does not mean that you are in the den of backstabbing thieves, especially if you are in a formal setting like a bank. On the other hand, the ping-pong tables and casual clothes of your new hip tech company may not mean that people really trust each other. Keep the specifics of your industry and culture in mind when evaluating the credibility of your new job.
The importance of building trust early
By building trust with your teammates as early as possible, you create a solid long-term foundation. This is because how much you trust someone affects your behavior. According to management expert Dana Brown Lee, trust creates a “shield of goodwill” that minimizes communication problems.
If you trust someone, you believe they have good intentions. You trust that they want the best for you and the team. So you are more likely to see that all their words and actions come from good intentions, even if they are slightly ambiguous.
There is no black and white when it comes to communication. It is inevitable that you and your colleagues will give and do things that can be interpreted in many ways. This is where trust comes in. It’s the difference between thinking that Jennifer is trying to get rid of you when she sends you a quick email, and thinking that she is probably just thinking about her son’s skydiving lesson or some big project that you know will be done next week. .
The equation of trust: warmth and power
So how can we show other people that they can be trusted? A study has shown that reliability is a combination of friendliness and competence. It is amazing that these two qualities account for 90% of the impressions we make on other people, good or bad.
This is what Machiavelli was talking about when he said that leaders should strive to be both loved and feared (but we don’t follow his advice). It is also described as a combination of authenticity, vulnerability and trustworthiness.
Trust means being human and kind, but at the same time showing that you can fulfill your responsibilities. When starting a new job, it’s best to focus on the heat. Your work speaks for itself and you have enough time to prove you are worth your work. Here’s a takeaway? Start things right by showing your new team a smile and sympathy.
