Prosocial Framework for Group Trust Building

Trust collapsed after one missed deadline They delivered millions in savings together. Then one critical project failed. I watched my client Sarah's (have seeked their permission and changed their name for confidentiality) team transform from celebrating quarterly wins to exchanging terse emails within weeks. During our first coaching session, they sat at opposite ends of the table, avoiding eye contact. "We used to finish each other's sentences," Sarah confided. "Now we can barely finish a meeting without tension." Sound familiar? This frustration isn't about skills—it's about broken trust. In The Thin Book of Trust, Charles Feltman provides the framework that helped us diagnose what was happening. Trust, he explains, isn't mysterious—it breaks down into four measurable elements: ✅ Care – Sarah's team stopped checking in on each other's wellbeing ✅ Sincerity – Their communications became guarded and political ✅ Reliability – Missed deadlines created a cycle of lowered expectations ✅ Competence – They began questioning each other's abilities after setbacks The breakthrough came when I had them map which specific element had broken for each relationship. The pattern was clear: reliability had cracked first, then everything else followed. Three months later, this same team presented their recovery strategy to leadership. Their transformation wasn't magic—it came from deliberately rebuilding trust behaviors, starting with keeping small promises consistently. My video walks you through this exact framework. Because when teams fracture, the question isn't "Why is everyone so difficult?" but rather: "Which trust element needs rebuilding first—and what's my next concrete step?" Which trust element (care, sincerity, reliability, competence) do you find breaks down most often in struggling teams? #humanresources #workplace #team #performance #cassandracoach

Every broken team traces back to one fracture: Trust. Fix it and you fix everything. Jessica Sajan and I experienced this firsthand when we were doing for the senior leadership at Bhakti Vedanta Hospital some years back. We had come to deliver a workshop on Building Trust. The plan looked simple: – Teach the essence of trust – Share a proven framework – Guide a leadership intervention But here’s the thing about trust: it doesn’t stay in the slides. It shows up in the room. The moment leaders engaged with the Reina Trust Building® Framework created by Dennis Reina, PhD and Michelle Reina, PhD, the shift was undeniable. It’s built on The Three Pillars of Trust: 1/ Trust of Character — integrity lowers walls. Why it matters: Without integrity, alignment and collaboration collapse. 2️/ Trust of Communication — openness unlocks vulnerability. Why it matters: Honest dialogue creates safety, and safety fuels innovation. 3️/ Trust of Capability — competence sparks confidence. Why it matters: Teams only move forward when they believe in each other’s skills. When these three align, something bigger happens: → Teams transform. → Cultures heal. → Leaders rise. This wasn’t a session. It was trust rewriting the rules of leadership. Here’s the truth: Techniques create polish Trust creates transformation Key Takeaways for You: A Proven Framework — The Reina model gives leaders a practical way to identify, measure and repair trust fractures. Culture at the Core — When character, communication, and capability align, entire teams shift. Transformation over Technique — Trust isn’t learned in theory; it’s lived, experienced, and scaled. That’s why we build with frameworks, not workshops. Because trust is the force that changes everything. When was the last time trust disrupted your plan and gave you something bigger?

Did you know there’s an equation that can quantify TRUST? (Share this with your team 👇) If you’re struggling to build trust within your team, here’s a strategy that works every time I lead or manage a project. It’s called ‘The Trust Equation' by David Maister. TRUST 🟰 (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) ➗ Self-orientation Let me explain so you can start building trust... 1. Credibility: Are your words believable? 2. Reliability: Do your actions match your promises? 3. Intimacy: Do people feel safe sharing openly with you? 4. Self-orientation: Are you focused on others’ needs—or your own? In the equation, you are perceived as trustworthy if the sum of your (credibility + reliability + intimacy) outweighs your self-orientation. Game changer. When I first started managing teams, I thought results alone built trust. I was wrong. Here’s how I started using this framework: ⬆️ Raise Credibility: Show expertise and back it with results. ⬆️ Demonstrate Reliability: Be on time. Meet deadlines and honor commitments. ⬆️ Build Intimacy: Listen. Create safe spaces, find shared interests/experiences, and show empathy. ⬇️ Lower Self-orientation: Be willing to do thankless jobs in the shadows. Focus on team goals and celebrate others’ wins. Key insight: The top parts of the equation can compensate for each other. But a high self-orientation destroys trust and triggers alarms instantly. Why am I sharing this now? Because trust is the real currency in business, and it forms the base of team performance. If there's no trust, forget about all the tools & tactics - address trust first. Next time conflict arises, ask yourself: Do we really trust each other? What’s one way you build trust in your teams? 👇

Twenty minutes. One question. Eight team members in a circle. That's all it takes to transform how a team connects. I call it a Connection Circle, and here's how it works: You gather your team and sit them in a circle (this can also be done on Zoom). Once everyone is seated, you ask the team a Connection Question, like "What brings you joy?" But here's the key to making this technique so effective in fostering meaningful relationships. Instead of going around once with everyone sharing briefly before moving on to "more important" things, you carve out at least twenty minutes for just that one Connection Question. You heard that correctly. Twenty minutes for just "What brings you joy?" That means people are going to end up sharing multiple times, and that is incredibly important for fostering collaboration and teamwork. In my experience facilitating Connection Circles hundreds of times across hundreds of workplaces, three consistent outcomes emerge during debriefs: The first outcome is empathy – understanding who people are and what is important to them. Empathy activates people to support and help each other. That's why it's critical for increasing team engagement and problem solving. The second outcome is common humanity – recognizing all the ways in which we are interconnected. When team members see their shared experiences and values, this builds and strengthens trust. The third outcome is prosocial behaviors (things good for relationships) such as smiling, laughter, vulnerability, and listening. In a world where people barely know their coworkers, these twenty minutes (implemented weekly, biweekly or monthly in a team meeting) can be the difference between a person staying and a person leaving. The team at Genesys Works NCR (pictured below) experienced our Connection Circles firsthand during a recent team retreat where they practiced this technique alongside other connection-building exercises. If you are looking for an authentic team building experience, you can learn more about Connection Trainings offered by my nonprofit, Evolving Minds, here: https://lnkd.in/e6xicxXV P.S. Here's our Connection Questions Curriculum: •Seeking Gratitude: What are you grateful for? •Sharing Joy: What brings you joy? •Seeing Goodness: Where do you see goodness in the world? •Sparking Hope: What gives you hope? •Speaking Inspiration: What inspires you? •Standing for Peace: Where do you find peace/what brings you peace? •Striving for Curiosity: What are you curious about? •Spreading Love: Who or what do you love?