The coronavirus pandemic has caused many workplaces to issue a work-at-home policy, which may need to become a smooth transition in future pandemics given our global environment. I’ve been thinking about the implications for the basics of teamwork, beginning with Trust. Here are some thoughts I have gathered about how to focus on building trust while teammates are remote:

Pro-actively build personal connections. Don’t assume that people will mainly be interested in what their fellow team members can do, as opposed to who they are as individuals. Keith Ferrazzi suggests that managers can help encourage personal connections by starting meetings with a “Take 5” for people to talk about what’s been happening in their lives, both personally and professionally. This builds empathy which then paves the way for trust.
Communicate conscientiously. On high-trust teams, communications are regular and predictable, and team members let others know when they receive emails or requests, and when they will be unavailable or when they will be able to respond. This saves wondering which usually erodes trust.
Share and rotate power. In a traditional workplace, managers often use a command-and-control approach where in a virtual environment, studies show that when managers use a “monitor and mentor” approach, the team works better.

I’m sure there are more tips and I encourage you to think of what builds trust of others in you, and what others around you consider to be trustworthy in a virtual environment. There is a recent topic emerging in my field called “swift trust” which consists of methods that build trust virtually.