In Patrick Lencioni’s book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, he contends that to overcome the absence of trust is about the willingness to be vulnerable. “Vulnerability-based trust is predicated on the simple – and practical – idea that people who aren’t afraid to admit the truth about themselves are not going to engage in the kind of political behavior that wastes everyone’s time and energy, and more importantly, makes the accomplishment of results an unlikely scenario.”

Vulnerability-based trust may be a simple idea, but is a challenge to create and maintain in the workplace. It is an ongoing practice.

I experienced this with a client of mine last month in their sincere and committed attempts to create and build vulnerability-based trust. I facilitated a two hour session with them in a practice they called “Monthly Family Meetings.” This was the first time they engaged in this practice.

What happened during the meeting? [Read more…]