TRUST
Building trust is the 

CONFLICT
If you don't have trust, you can't have healthy conflict.  You'll just have people that avoid conflict, hold things in, and not be truly authentic.  Usually, things blow up at the most in-opportune times!

COMMITMENT
If you can't have that healthy conflict, where people get a chance to share their true opinions with one another, you can't get people to commit or buy-in to the decisions that are being made as a team.

ACCOUNTABILITY
If you can't get commitment from the team, you certainly won't get people to hold one another accountable.

RESULTS
If you don't get people holding one another accountable, you simply won't get the results that you want this year.

It all begins with trust.  Here are a few things to try.

1.  Be vulnerable as a leader.  
Share a bit of your insides - not just your outsides.  If you can show your team who you are, what you are thinking and feeling, then you come across as human.  If you show them you care, then they will trust you a whole lot more as a leader.

2.  Get your team talking.
Do lots of activities where they are sharing things with one another.  

Gratitude Lists: Take 5 minutes.  Have everyone on the team write a gratitude list, then share as a group.

Paired Sharing: One person talks, the other person listens. Then they switch roles.  Have them talk about ANYTHING! They will get a chance to connect with one another and find out a bit more than whatever social activity is going on after practice. For example: What do they like best about their sport? How did they get started? What is the most challenging thing about their sport? What are they looking forward to this season? What do they need the most help with? What is a strength?  What is one thing they can do to help someone else on the team?

3.  Acknowledge one another
Have them acknowledge one another - ALL THE TIME!  

• You can do this with stickers - each sticker they give away, they have to tell that teammate what they appreciate or value about them.  
• You can have them tape a piece of paper on their backs and go around and have each teammate write an acknowledgements on the paper.  
• You could have a secret acknowledgement week where people hang a piece of paper on their locker in the locker room and others get a chance to write what they value for everyone to see.  

What do YOU do to build trust on your team?  What ideas do you have?  Share your comments on the Coaching Experience Facebook page.

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