When it comes to building a strong team at work, trust sits at the forefront. But when teams operate fully online, trust can no longer develop through hallway conversations, post-meeting sidebars or over shared lunches.
In a remote or hybrid workplace, trust has to be created deliberately.
According to a survey conducted by Gallup, only 28% of fully remote workers strongly agree they feel connected to their workplace’s mission and purpose.
That disconnect can have real consequences, including lower engagement, miscommunication and stalled collaboration.
That’s not to say remote work is the problem. Rather, it’s the lack of intentional leadership that allows trust to fall by the wayside.
As leadership coach and Wild Courage author Jenny Wood explains, “Meetings are where you do your job. The margins are where you build trust.”
The difference?
Meetings could take place on Zoom, but margins are when, “I text you something afterwards,” Wood says. You might say something along the lines of: “I like what you shared today.” Or, “I thought of you when…”
In a remote environment, those margins don’t happen naturally, they have to be created.
Here are four ways leaders can build trust in virtual teams.
1. Have clear swim lanes
Building trust starts with the manager or the leader setting clear “swim lanes.” This means being clear on roles, responsibilities and expectations so every team member knows who is accountable for what—and there isn’t any confusion.
“I have dozens of one-on-one coaching clients, and the biggest thing that frustrates people is feeling like they’re forgotten, feeling like someone else is taking credit for their work, feeling like they’re not valued by their manager,” Wood says. “All of that can be solved by clear swim lanes.”
Make things clear.
From the employee side, trust is built with your managers and co-workers by following through. “You can build trust by delivering on your deadlines, hitting your metrics [and] being reliable,” Wood says.
It’s fine to start meetings with an icebreaker—Who’s your favorite band? What’s your go-to karaoke song?—but according to Wood, “Trust is built by being proud of the work you do together.”
2. Assume positive intent
Another factor that can undermine trust and cause stress, burnout or even medical leave is what Wood calls “truths and tales.”
A truth is a verifiable fact. For example: “This is a purple Sharpie,” Wood says, holding up a purple capped marker.
“That’s a truth.” A tale, on the other hand, is the story we create around that truth. You might think, this sharpie could explode all over my hand, ruin my laptop, ruin this interview, ruin my entire day, Wood explains. Or you could choose a more empowering tale: This Sharpie is enabling me to add some color to my notes today.
For remote employees, separating truths from tales is especially important, Wood says, because distance can make it easier to misinterpret actions or assume negative intent.
Tales at work often look like: Nobody cares about me because I’m not in person. Hybrid work means that the people who are in the office versus the ones who are at home are more likely to get promoted.
As an employee, “see if you can tell yourself a more empowering tale: I do really good work. I’ve gotten good feedback from my boss… So separating those truths and tales can be very empowering for remote employees or employees who are working from home while other people are working from the office,” Wood explains.
Managers can help reinforce these empowering truths and prevent negative assumptions by fostering open dialogue.
3. Check-ins
Regular one-on-one meetings are a powerful tool for building trust in remote teams.
Wood shared about her experiences over an 18-year tenure at Google: “Google had a very meeting heavy culture, but one thing that I really loved about it was there were consistent weekly or biweekly one-on-ones with your manager.”
“If you’re a manager, don’t cancel those. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of your manager canceling your one-on-one, especially if you’ve prepped it,” she says.
In those meetings, the best thing a manager can do is ask “what” or “how” questions—not just status updates, Wood explains.
At the end, a manager might ask: How can I support you this week? What’s keeping you up at night? What stakeholders are causing you the most stress right now? How could we be leveraging your skills more? What projects are stressful? What projects don’t feel like they have clear swim lanes?
Asking “what” and “how” questions, rather than just checking boxes, is critical for building trust with remote teams. These questions show that a manager is invested, leaving employees feeling supported and heard.
4. Be consistent, be proactive, and do one thing at a time
When building trust with a team, Wood explains that both leaders and employees need to follow three pillars of excellence: consistency, proactivity and focus.
On the manager’s end, this looks like:
Be consistent: “If you’re going to tell one person that they can’t take vacation in November because it’s the big Thanksgiving push, then you need to tell all your employees they can’t take vacation in November and apply it consistently across in-office and remote employees.” Consistency shows fairness and reliability, which are essential for trust building in virtual teams.
Be proactive: “Don’t wait for your employees to come to you and say, ‘Hey, what are our goals supposed to be?’” Wood suggests. Instead, clearly communicate KPIs, OKRs and expectations in advance and provide clarity on new initiatives before employees are left guessing. Being proactive demonstrates reliability and transparency, which reinforce trust in leadership.
Do one thing at a time: It’s important to model focus and intentionality by prioritizing key goals rather than multitasking across dozens of initiatives. When leaders are clear and focused, teams know where to direct their efforts, which creates confidence and trust in the leader’s guidance.
“Pick three key goals that matter for the business and forget the rest,” Wood advises.
When trust does start to break
Cracks in developed trust are likely to form, but that doesn’t mean the situation is doomed. If trust begins to break, Wood recommends hopping on a call or using another form of communication different from what you normally do.
“If you typically communicate on email, try a phone call. If you typically communicate on a phone call, try a video call. If you have the ability to bring somebody in to have an important conversation, then that’s great,” she says.
“Oftentimes, the challenges are between two peers,” Wood explains. “People spend years worrying that their peer doesn’t like them or feeling jealous or insecure because of one eyebrow. They waste years thinking this person hates them, which limits their potential, their ability to do good work [and] how much they want to collaborate.”
Before it gets to this point, a simple three-minute conversation coordinated by a leader, manager or boss can resolve this by simply saying, “Let’s just all get on the same page.”
By being proactive about communication, modeling transparency and engaging in these trust-building exercises for remote teams, leaders can ensure a strong remote work culture and maintain connection in virtual teams.
How do leaders build trust with virtual or remote teams?
Leaders build trust in remote teams by setting clear roles and responsibilities, communicating expectations proactively and following through on commitments. Regular one-on-ones, open dialogue and consistent, focused leadership help reinforce reliability and fairness.
What are the most effective ways to create team connection without in-person interaction?
Connection can be fostered through intentional “margin moments”—quick follow-ups, recognition messages or thoughtful check-ins outside formal meetings.
How can managers maintain trust and culture in hybrid work environments?
Managers maintain trust in hybrid teams by applying policies consistently, proactively clarifying expectations and being intentional about inclusion. One idea Wood suggests is to make sure to include remote team members during meetings, especially if there also are some team members in person. Thoughtful actions like this can help keep remote teams connect and reinforce fairness and engagement.
Why do remote teams struggle with trust, and how can leaders address it?
Distance can make it easier for team members to misinterpret actions or assume negative intent. Leaders can address this by encouraging open communication, separating “truths from tales” and creating regular spaces for feedback, support and alignment.
How can leaders measure trust and engagement in a remote team?
Trust and engagement can be gauged through regular one-on-ones and open dialogue, leaning on “how” and “what” questions.
Photo by Photoroyalty/Shutterstock.com
