ABSTRACT
Trust is another one of those words that we throw around a lot, assuming that its meaning is clear. But what does trust truly mean, particularly on a job site?
In his seminal work, ἀ e Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni states that there are two primary components required for a team to consider itself trusting: benefit of the doubt and vulnerability. He says that it is crucial, particularly in times of trouble, that each person on the team give each other the benefit of the doubt and not doubt one another’s heart or motivation. If someone on the team should fail to execute correctly, his or her teammates need to assume that his or her intentions were good (i.e., “Gary made a prioritization error and failed to update the submittal log on time” versus “Gary doesn’t give a damn”). On teams where trust is high, the focus is on finding solutions to problems-as a team-not ferreting out scapegoats.
