Explain why this team has been created or restructured. What is the team’s purpose? What is the team hoping to accomplish? Why were specific individuals chosen to be on this team?
Spend time getting to know each other. Share personal stories conveying why you enjoy this work, meaningful accomplishments, backgrounds and skills.
Set the tone for the work the team will do and how they will interact with each other. Determine what the team values. What expectations do individuals on the team have of each other? What behaviors are accepted by the team and which are not?
Identify the roles and responsibilities of team members. Align roles and responsibilities to specific skills and expertise of team members. Verify all team members understand their role and the roles of other team members.
Meet as a team and discuss current or potential barriers to accomplishing team goals. What is stopping the team from reaching optimal efficiency? What are the barriers the team is experiencing? Ask the team to think of solutions to eliminate silos, and remove communication barriers, and any other obstacles they foresee.
Building trust with new teams or established teams is a nonstop process. Continuously build trust on teams by making deposits in individuals’ emotional bank accounts, keeping the team aligned to their purpose and goals, and checking in regularly to make connection and reduce barriers. As the team makes progress celebrate the small wins and recognize and reward success of individual team members.