Whenever I talk about the concept of trust in a team environment I sometimes get this look of, “so you want me to be BFF’s with my teammates?” Actually the answer is NO! You can be BFF’s if you want to! But trusting your teammates doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends and share your deepest secrets. What I am suggesting is to develop a certain level of trust in the context of the team because it will impact your success or failure.
Here are a few areas of trust to consider inside the team environment.
1. Trust that your teammate is going to be committed to a ‘team first’ mentality.
2. Trust that your teammate is going to work hard everyday.
3. Trust that your teammate will perform at a high level.
4. Trust that your teammate will maintain a high level of fitness and be ready to play when it’s game time.
5. Trust that your teammate believes in the team goals and will sacrifice whatever it takes to reach these.
6. Trust that your teammate will “have your back”.
Can YOUR teammates trust YOU in these areas?
You might not be able to trust your teammate to take out the trash in the dorm room…but you MUST be able to trust he or she in the above areas.
Learn to trust people within the various environments of life. Always consider the context of a circumstance.
A trustworthy teammate is the one I follow into battle.
