The Value of a “High Trust” Team Culture

A number of wealth advisory teams focus primarily on efficiency and productivity, but research shows they should instead be emphasizing building and maintaining a “high trust” team culture. There are multiple reasons for this.

First, there is the personal side. Analyses by neuroeconomist Paul Zak show that trust results in a 74% reduction on stress among team members, over 100% more energy at work and even 29% greater life satisfaction. In his Harvard Business Review article, “The Neuroscience of Trust,” Zak noted that trust produces an increase in oxytocin, widely known as the “love hormone” because it produces feelings of warmth and affection and thus aids in bonding.  

The effects of trust, however, go far beyond improving the energy and satisfaction levels of team members.  Trust directly impacts the bottom line. High trust companies achieve 50% greater productivity than low or average trust organizations, in part due to the fact that employees feel a 76% greater engagement.  Proxies for “high trust” organizations, such as the Fortune 100 Best Companies, performed four times better than the market from 1998 through 2022. The FTSE Russell “Great Place to Work Certified” groups increased returns by 19% over all others from 2020 to 2023. A Gallup 2017 study showed 21% higher profitability in high engagement companies—making the 76% greater engagement in high trust teams a direct correlation to better financial performance. 

There are very few areas that could alone produce greater engagement, productivity, revenue and profitability.  That makes it well worth the emphasis. But what makes for a “high trust” culture?  Based on reviewing a number of studies, including Google’s famous Project Aristotle, which reviewed over 180 teams to determine the top characteristics of the most successful teams, I believe there are five key components to achieving and maintaining a “high trust” team culture: psychological safety; clarity; connection; meaning; and talent development.  Let me briefly describe the nature and importance of each.

Psychological safety tops every list of key components and was number 1 in the Google study.  Team members must feel completely safe to speak their minds without any fear of criticism, humiliation or sarcasm.  This kind of safety allows for people to take risks, offer unpopular opinions or disagree with a strategy.  Without it, simply put, trust cannot develop.

Clarity refers to the fact that roles, plans and goals are clearly defined and understood by all.  Without clarity, there can be no accountability. Team members need to know not just what they are expected to do, but how what they do fits in with and contributes to the larger picture. This forms a basis for greater and better collaboration.

Connection is vital to achieving trust. It results from good communication and continuous efforts at relationship building and requires empathy, through deep listening, observation and asking meaningful questions. A sense of belonging is palatable and fosters greater engagement. Connection is worth all the effort. It provided the very foundation for the Musketeers’ famous motto: all for one, one for all—which embodies the bonding that is reflected in all great teams.

Meaning refers to the fact that team members, like all people, want to make a difference.  They want to feel that the team’s values align with theirs and they can have an impact. Every team member should know and ascribe to the purpose and core values of the team, exemplified by leaders and members alike.

Talent development encapsulates the desire for growth among all team members as well as their need to be recognized appropriately for what they have done. This requires a perspective that leads with learning rather than blame, thus solidifying a feeling of safety, which allows for failure as an important element in growth.

Who is responsible for creating and maintaining a “high trust” culture? The easy answer is—everyone. The team leader sets the tone and the example with the empathy and kindness with which they interact with all members; in the lucidity and transparency with which they articulate expectations and approach formulating goals; and how they commit to maximizing the talent of each member. Each individual member needs to offer the same psychological safety they themselves desire. They too must approach colleagues with empathy and caring. They need to be accountable for what they do and to speak what they think and feel as respectfully as possible.  And they need to commit to continuous learning. Together, leaders and members create and live the “high trust.”

Creating and maintaining a “high trust” culture is not easy. It requires a constant investment of time, attention and resources.  In my next white paper, I will offer suggestions for how to better embed and enhance the five key components.