Working in teams

Working on teams can be very stressful. A team member has to meet the team, discuss the project, figure out who will do what part of the project, and manage your normal tasks at work while completing the new work that is associated with the team project. Stress is added automatically because a team member would naturally want to do a good job on the team project and that people are going to rely on you to complete your part but you also have to worry that the others on the team are going to do their part. Distrust on a team can lead to many problems.

Not having trust in your team can lead to arguments within the team and not being able to work with that person or even the entire group. Distrust can lead to a person doing his part of the assigned project and can also lead to that person doing other parts of the project not assigned to them causing friction. Another possible result from having distrust in the team dynamic is the ability to influence others. A person with influence can bring doubt in the group or persuade others to have doubt in one or more people on the team that could result in the team turning a person or even getting a person or persons thrown out of the group.

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To answer the question is trust assumed or is it earned within a team. Ruth H. Axelrod answered the question by researching various philosophers and professors and they all noted a person has to have the following traits to garner trust. Ruth’s discoveries say trust has to be earned. She noted one has to show good character, honesty, integrity, must be dependable, and must be reliable. These findings were published in her paper Deciding To Trust a Stranger. I agree that trust has to be earned.

It is good to come to a team project with an open mind and no preconceived thoughts but everyone in the team will still have to show they can pull his or her weight and work as a team. Trust can lost be lost while working on a team very easily. One simple mishap like not showing up for a scheduled meeting or not being prepared can cause the team to lose trust within an individual. Always being present to a scheduled meeting is very important. Missing a meeting could lead to missing an important update or new deadline for the project.

Not being prepared shows the team you are not engaged in the project, the work assigned to you is too much for you to handle, or you simply do not care for the project or the others on your team. It is easy to keep trust among your team. If you do you what is asked and expected of you the team will have trust in you. If you treat everyone with respect and provide support the team will trust you. Taken from the paper again, if a person shows the qualities of being dependable, being reliable, and having integrity trust will be maintained within the team.