Lead people
BRAVING trust inventory
Also called Anatomy of trust, BRAVING
Talk about trust in seven parts (boundaries, reliability, accountability, vault, integrity, non-judgement, generosity) instead of one big word.
- Time45 to 60 minutes
- People2 to 10 people
- Steps4
What it's for
'I don't trust you' ends a conversation. Breaking trust into seven behaviours makes it something a team can talk about: boundaries (being clear about what's OK and respecting it), reliability (doing what you say, again and again), accountability (owning mistakes and putting them right), vault (keeping confidences, and not sharing what isn't yours), integrity (choosing what's right over what's easy), non-judgement (being able to ask for help) and generosity (assuming the best about each other).
Use it about the team's own working relationships, never to rate someone who isn't in the room.
How to run it
Read the seven10 min
Go through each element and what it looks like on this team.
Reflect alone5 min
Each person notes one element that's strong in the team and one that needs work.
Share20 min
Put the notes in the elements, and talk about patterns, not people.
Practise one10 min
Pick one element to work on, and one specific behaviour that would show it.
Tips
- Trust is built in small moments. Ask for behaviours, not feelings: 'reply when you say you will'.
- Generosity is the one teams most often skip. It's also the quickest to practise.
Where it comes from
From Brené Brown's research on trust, first shared in her 2015 talk The Anatomy of Trust and expanded in Dare to Lead (2018).
Pairs well with
Five dysfunctions of a team
Check a team against five layers that build on each other: trust, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.
Working agreements
A team agrees, in its own words, how it will communicate, meet, decide and handle problems, and writes it down.
Johari window
Four panes of what's known about a person, to themselves and to others, used to grow the open pane through sharing and feedback.