When Trust is a Problem in Your Meetings

When Trust is a Problem in Your Meetings—Here’s How to Fix It

How to move beyond friction and improve meeting outcomes without triggering defensiveness.

From Friction to Function

In teams, trust deficit shows up in different ways such as, withholding critical information, passive resistance to technical decisions, and the proliferation of defensive documentation. While these symptoms often trigger interventions focused on the behavior of individuals, there's a more diplomatic approach that aligns with the need to maintain team cohesiveness.

The Price of Distrust: Why Intervention Matters

Trust issues in teams are expensive, creating costs such as deepening organizational silos, delayed deployments due to excessive review cycles, and redundant validation requirements. It can help to treat trust deficits as a team dynamic rather than a personal attribute, even though trust problems emanate from individuals. Doing so can optimize team processes without triggering defensive reactions.

Case Study: Turnaround from Goose Season Gone Wrong

After a controversial early closure of a goose hunting season, my agency faced a serious trust crisis when it was discovered that staff had withheld information about data errors that, if corrected, would have kept the season open. The situation escalated and the President of the State Senate became involved, with stakeholders expressing intense frustration over both the closure and the lack of transparency.

Rather than becoming defensive about the trust issues, the director of my agency implemented a turning-point discussion during the heated stakeholder meeting. After allowing stakeholders to express their concerns, he facilitated a systems-improvement dialogue focused on identifying specific transparency and communication attributes that the stakeholders would like to see. This process-focused discussion helped shift the group to a future-oriented conversation on solutions and away from history-focused recrimination. This process led to concrete commitments the agency could make on how decisions would be made and communicated in the future.

The Trust Barometer: A Process Solution Framework

The Trust Barometer is a non-judgmental assessment and facilitation approach that helps groups identify and implement process improvements to enhance trust. As a diagnostic tool, it examines how well meeting processes support open dialogue, collective decision-making, and credible teamwork. As a teambuilding tool, it engages teams in collaboratively defining what behaviors and practices would strengthen their trust going forward. When trust breaks down, the Barometer method actively engages with conflict ('going to the heat') through active listening and acknowledgment, then pivots to facilitate a forward-looking discussion of specific trust-building attributes. Key to this method is avoiding the rehashing of past grievances ('litigating history') while creating space for stakeholders to define what concrete behaviors and practices would rebuild their trust.

Begin by framing the discussion positively: "Let's explore how our meeting processes are supporting our ability to work together effectively." Guide participants to reflect on process elements like information sharing, decision clarity, and follow-through mechanisms.

For example, in a meeting where trust is not abundant, you might say: "On our current project, let's assess how well our meeting processes are helping us share information, make decisions, and follow through on commitments. What's working well? Where might we make adjustments to work together more effectively?" While trust concerns with people in the meeting may exist, this approach constructively focuses on system-level improvements that can benefit everyone without triggering defensive reactions or getting mired in interpersonal conflicts. Consider asking questions like,

• "How clear is our decision-making process? What can we do better?"
• "Do we have the information we need when we need it? What can we do better?""
• "Are our follow-up processes helping us deliver on commitments? What can we do better?"
• "What meeting practices would help us collaborate more effectively? What can we do better?"

Building Bridges, Not Barriers: Putting Trust Tools to Work

The Trust Barometer's effectiveness stems from its alignment with technical problem-solving approaches and from its ability to create a forward-looking conversation. It transforms subjective trust issues into concrete process improvements that can be implemented and measured. Remember: Just as we optimize technical systems for reliability and performance, we can systematically improve collaboration systems for increased team effectiveness.

Interested in Some Support? Let’s Talk (for free!)

If your team is experiencing trust issues, schedule a free consultation to analyze your team's current problems and develop an intervention strategy. Promise: when we meet we will talk about your issues—I will not give you a sales pitch.

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