Trust — Teaming With Ideas — Carlos Valdes-Dapena

Darryl Stickel on Building Trust for successful collaboration

I was at a conference held at Duke that was labeled Building Trust in Institutions, and overwhelmingly what they talked about was the lack of trust. There was a real shortage of conversation about how to actually build it, how to make things better.

I think the one that's most prevalent is probably the belief held by most of us that we're trustworthy. I think the research suggests that 95% of people believe they're more trustworthy than average. Not only is that statistically impossible, but it creates problems for us because we have this profound lack of awareness about who we trust and how much we trust them.

…Perceived uncertainty and perceived vulnerability are the basis of trust and they combine: Uncertainty times vulnerability gives us a level of perceived risk.

It's about me becoming more trustworthy. It's not about building trust in some space between us. It's about me saying, “I'm gonna take responsibility for understanding how trustworthy I am,” and then pulling these levers move the needle on that.

Team CollaborationCarlos Valdes-DapenaDecember 1, 2022TrustComment

Stay Curious: Lead with Positivity

I think the first thing is that everybody’s human. Everybody has good moments and they have bad moments. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a colleague was from Mars, in a moment like that: assume positive intent. Everybody wants to get to a good place; nobody wakes up in the morning wanting to do a terrible job or frustrate you. That was a great piece of advice. Then, the second piece he added to that: remain curious. What he meant by that was, if we’re having a disagreement, it isn’t necessarily with each other. It’s with whatever idea we’re debating. So one of the two of us, in a given moment, has to be more curious about understanding the other’s view to bridge whatever that difference is.

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaAugust 16, 2022Trust, resilience, political agendas, positivityComment

Bringing Your Whole Self to Teams

“I discovered early on was that people were in a different place. When we meet as a team, we allow more time for the check-in, to talk about their personal lives with their families and about their business lives.

“Early on, when I was a team member, I’d had a very difficult week personally and was worried about both my kids. In the team meeting, I was having all these conversations with people and I realized at the end of the week that I hadn’t shared with anybody how I was feeling. And the reason I hadn’t shared it with anybody is because nobody had asked.

“What I’ve discovered is when you create that space to check-in at the beginning of the meeting, it brings a presence and a sense of connectedness, even over long distances, that I think has sustained us.”

Read more to discover how and why checking in authentically at a team meeting’s start is deeply beneficial and, to Sylvia, essential.

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaSeptember 30, 2021Trust, psychological safety, MarsComment

Intuitive Leadership

Dean Newlund, founder of Mission Facilitators and author of THE BUSINESS OF INTUITION, likes working with businesses and organizations with purpose-centered teams and organizations who, quite frankly, are trying to change their own world. His company wants to support them in being able to reach those larger goals. And while data is extremely valuable, senior leaders tend to decide with their gut or intuition instead of responding to metrics.

“What I understand is, the higher up you go in an organization, the more important intuition becomes because it makes you a better listener, a better strategic planner, a better problem solver. We don't necessarily allow the entire rank and file to tap into that intuitive side. When we do we start seeing more engagement, better ideas, better creativity.”

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaApril 26, 2021intuition, Trust, mission statement, vision statement, VisualizationComment

Team Power, Hierarchy Flexibility...and Hippos with Dr. Lindy Greer

Dr. Lindy Greer, U Michigan Ross School of business, has done a lot research on how organizations’ power hierarchy affects team operations and collaboration. She found that the net effect of hierarchy on teams was negative. Small, but negative. Listen or read this interview to find out when hierarchy flexibility of power can be applied to enhance trust, participation, collaboration and when the hierarchical power structure enhances a team’s effectiveness. Then hear how her brilliant hippo analogy can apply to your team.

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaMarch 15, 2021Trust, team behaviorComment

Your Team Has The Answers with Ulf Hahnemann

Ulf Hahnemann thinks it’s much more powerful to create an atmosphere where people feel trusted and comfortable enough to use their brains and intelligence, and they come up with the solutions that are the right ones for the organization. Here are the 5 essential steps he uses to build his teams’ trust.

Don’t miss the Parking Lot Mentor story!

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaFebruary 16, 2021Trust, human resources, mentor, Maersk, HeadhunterComment

Teams' Aptitude AND Attitude with Arturo Arteaga

I divide my team and how I communicate with them between attitude and aptitude. If someone has the right attitude but not the aptitude, I can work with them on the knowledge and capability building. Someone who has the right aptitude but not the right attitude is more difficult because you are losing some trust there.

Clarity of communication and motivation are essential for the individuals on the team. A manager must understand the individual’s context and ensure they’re understanding the manager’s contextually nuanced meaning.

Team LeadershipCarlos Valdes-DapenaFebruary 4, 2021Team motivation, TrustComment

Teaming With Ideas: Introducing New Podcast Series on Team Collaboration

Why Teaming With Ideas? Where does this passion for team collaboration in Carlos Valdes-Dapena come from? What is his vision for the future of team collaboration at work? From a large family, to an MFA in theatre, team collaboration has been a central through-line in Carlos’ life. Learn here what drives this passion and where it’s leading.

Team CollaborationCarlos Valdes-DapenaSeptember 21, 2020Trust, High Performance CollaborationComment