Building trust

Building trust by living the IKEA key values

How do you build trust in practice?

Trust is the outcome and reward of us living our IKEA key values. Of specific importance are Togetherness, Give and take responsibility and Lead by example. How do you build trust in practice?

Trust sets the base for learning and performance

When we are in teams with high levels of trust, we can better build on each other’s ideas, and are more efficient and resilient. It’s a matter of feeling safe (psychological safety): knowing that what is said in the team is taken seriously, treated with respect, and that one dare to take risks. Trust is the glue that holds people together and sets the base for:

• learning: we learn best when the interactions between us are open and caring. When we dare to share questions, reflections, and experiences. When we dare to acknowledge mistakes, ask for help and feedback.

• performance: trust takes the bureaucracy out of communication and is key in times of uncertainty and when there is a great need for creative solutions. When trust increases, speed increases and costs decrease.

Ways to increase trust in meetings and conversations

• Check-in before content, check-out after content

• Include everyone and make everyone contribute

• Be soft on people, but hard on the issue

• First listen to understand, then talk to be understood

• First clarify needs, then solutions

• Listen with a ”we” in the background, and not a ”me”

• Listen not only on the “do”, but also for the “be”

• Double click – like when we double click on a folder, we can also “double click” on words to go deeper in a conversation

• Think “feed-forward”, rather than “feed-back”

Complexity and depth of relationship

The more complex the task, the more important it is that we deepen our relationships.

Exercise