Episode Summary: "How to Help Your Team Build Trust"

Podcast: Fixable
Hosts: Anne Morriss and Frances Frei
Guest: Kelly, Township Manager in the Midwest
Release Date: March 17, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of Fixable, hosts Anne Morriss and Frances Frei delve into the pivotal topic of building trust within a team. They welcome Kelly, a township manager from the Midwest, who seeks guidance on enhancing trust and engagement among her staff. Kelly's role involves overseeing public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and parks, making her position both critical and challenging.

Understanding the Challenges

Kelly begins by highlighting the foundational principles she values: authenticity, logic, and empathy. These are essential for fostering public trust in government operations. However, she faces two primary challenges:

1. Instilling Trust-Building Values:
   “I believe it's essential to instill these values in my staff as they engage with the public just as much as I do” (02:29). Kelly finds it difficult to teach and develop these abstract principles compared to traditional technical skills.

2. Balancing Trust with Efficiency:
   “Trust building actions like engagement and responsiveness sometimes conflict with governmental priorities like efficiency and cost control” (02:29). She grapples with convincing others that investing time and resources in trust-building is worthwhile.

Diagnosing the Trust Wobble

Frances Frei and Anne Morriss introduce the concept of trust anchors and trust wobbles. In Kelly's case, her team exhibits an empathy wobble, indicating a struggle in consistently demonstrating empathy during public interactions.

Frances elaborates, “Empathy can be taught…and logic anchors can be leveraged to support it” (11:28). This framework helps in identifying individual and team strengths and areas needing improvement.

Practical Recommendations

1. Introduce the Trust Framework to the Team

Frances suggests that Kelly share the framework of trust anchors and wobbles with her team:

“This has really helped me to understand me and I want to share that gift with you to the extent that it's helpful for you individually and I'd like to see if it's helpful for us collectively.” (13:43)

By allowing team members to self-diagnose their trust anchors and wobbles, they can identify personal strengths and areas for growth without feeling singled out.

2. Create a Safe Forum for Open Discussions

Anne and Frances recommend establishing a weekly meeting where team members can bring up real-life interactions with the public:

“Let's workshop different ways to handle this situation in the future.” (23:21)

This encourages continuous learning and collective problem-solving, fostering a supportive environment where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than failures.

3. Celebrate Successes and Failures

Incorporating elements like celebrating both wins and failures can normalize the learning process:

“There is something really powerful about just bringing them into the light and that shame often just evaporates.” (33:01)

Implementing practices such as a "fail wall," where team members publicly acknowledge their mistakes, can reduce the stigma around failure and promote transparency.

4. Leverage Storytelling and Empathy Training

While Kelly acknowledges her strong logical approach, Frances emphasizes the importance of storytelling in conveying empathy:

“Empathy can be taught. And I'm, you know, as somebody who really cares about government, I'm glad you have logic anchors, because that's what keeps all of those bridges that aren't falling down not falling down.” (11:28)

Training sessions focused on empathetic communication can help bridge the gap between logic and emotional connection, enhancing overall team trust.

Conclusion

By the episode's end, Kelly feels energized and optimistic about implementing these strategies. The hosts reinforce the importance of collective wisdom and regular practice in building a trustworthy and engaged team. They encourage listeners facing similar challenges to reach out and share their workplace problems for actionable insights.

Frances summarizes the key takeaway:

“The challenges of individuals can be solved by the collective wisdom of the team. You just need to create a forum for it.” (32:28)

Overall, this episode provides a comprehensive guide for leaders aiming to cultivate trust within their teams, emphasizing the balance between empathy and efficiency.

Notable Quotes:

• Kelly on valuing trust-building principles:
  “I deeply value the trust building principles of authenticity, logic and empathy and see them as vital to building the public's trust in government.” (02:29)

• Frances on empathy being teachable:
  “Empathy can be taught.” (11:28)

• Kelly on the impact of empathetic interactions:
  “The act of listening to them, empathizing with where they're coming from and explaining the no… I understand. I really appreciate you listening to me.” (19:10)

• Frances on the power of collective wisdom:
  “The challenges of individuals can be solved by the collective wisdom of the team. You just need to create a forum for it.” (32:28)

Timestamp Reference

• [02:29] - Kelly introduces her challenges in building trust.
• [11:28] - Frances discusses empathy as a teachable skill.
• [13:43] - Frances recommends sharing the trust framework with the team.
• [19:10] - Kelly shares experiences of empathetic interactions.
• [23:21] - Frances suggests creating a weekly meeting for open discussions.
• [32:28] - Frances highlights the importance of collective wisdom in solving challenges.
• [33:01] - Anne and Frances talk about celebrating failures to reduce shame.

For more insights and actionable workplace solutions, tune into Fixable by the TED Audio Collective and Pushkin Industries.