trust, not just nice to have ... its crucial!

By: Randy Shumpert MBA, SPC6 June 19, 2023

I tend to naturally trust others and expect others to be trustworthy. In doing so, giving control to someone else is a necessary part of trust. With time and experience, I’ve become better at choosing who I’m willing to trust, while working to establish a corporate culture where trust can grow. But trust is inherently associated with some amount of personal risk and peril. In this article, I’m sharing my thoughts on how a lack of trust can adversely impact the performance of Agile teams and product delivery outcomes expected by the organization.

Trust, an Economic Driver

Trust is an economic driver. It’s not just a nice-to-have because it affects the speed at which teams develop into high performing teams. High trust benefits the team, while low trust will cost the team in many ways. Teams with high levels of trust are more successful than those where trust is lacking. In large-scale Agile product development, there are teams, and teams-of-teams building the organization’s products and services. When multiple teams are involved, trust becomes a multiplier within and across the teams, and benefits the organization as a whole. As a multiplier, Trust then becomes the foundation for improving Agile competencies that teams must master such as planning, estimation, collaboration, continuous delivery, continuous improvement, and so on.

Trust means that you willingly surrender a measure of control to another without a safety net. Cross-functional Agile team members trust that each member competently contributes to the solution, based on their role, which helps the team deliver on its iteration goals. For example, software developers expect and trust that their product owner can accurately define User Stories and Acceptance Criteria, so they are building the right things and building them correctly. In SAFe, Agile release trains trust that teams will deliver on their commitments so that program goals are met. It is important that teams discuss and understand the underpinnings of trust. As various threads of Trust evolve, team members become more trusting of one another.

Invest In Trust

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Description automatically generated Trust doesn’t just happen. It requires coaching, nurturing, evaluation, and sometimes repair. It builds over time as the team recognizes that it works in everyone’s favor. In this way, trust functions as a lubricant in that is accelerates decision making and makes working together more enjoyable. Trust ultimately creates a “bond” which accelerates a team’s ability to deliver.

Bottom line, the more you look out for others on your team, the more they look out for you. As a consequence, trust becomes a medium of exchange which again becomes a benefit to all on the team, all on the release train, all in the value stream.

Patrick Lencioni established the “Five Dysfunctions of the Team”2 (Figure 1) and points out that “trust is knowing when a team member does push you, they are doing it because they care about the team.” In SAFe® certification classes, we teach that “an absence of trust leads to dysfunction in everything above it”1. When teams lack sufficient trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results all suffer.

Trusted Leadership

Trust grows when people in leadership roles demonstrate they can be trusted. They must embody the behavior and spirit they want the team to adopt. People pick up on phonies, but they also pick up on authenticity. As part of an Agile leadership team, our sponsor never missed an opportunity to exemplify trust. Because of this quality in him, we were all motivated to try to do the right thing in every circumstance. We were encouraged to “fix things” in ourselves and to welcome negative feedback from a perspective of self-improvement, and not to harm or blame. He invested in our personal and professional development with formal training. He supported autonomy, mastery and purpose in order to promote individual critical thinking and innovation.

The Agile Manifesto principle #5 says: “Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done”. Our leadership embodied this principle in every way. This mindset and cultural experience are the difference between “doing Agile” and “being Agile”. As an Agile practitioner, by focusing on the nuances and application of trust, teams become better teams.

About the Author

Randy Shumpert Sr., MBA, SPC6

Mr. Shumpert is a SAFe 6 Practice Consultant and Instructor, trusted partner, and change catalyst who listens and strives to help organizations reach their business agility objectives. To learn about our flagship product, GembaLyticstm, give us a call at (800) 466-1303, email [email protected], or visit our website at http://www.agilityobjectives.com

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