Building trust is the foundation of all high-performing teams. The Five Behaviors® model, designed by Patrick Lencioni and powered by Everything DiSC®, identifies trust as the first and most critical behavior. Without trust, teams struggle to engage in open dialogue, commit to decisions, or hold each other accountable. In this article, we explore how building trust through the Five Behaviors model transforms teams into resilient, transparent, and collaborative units.

Background and Context

Initially, team-building efforts often focused on surface-level activities, leaving core relational issues unresolved. Through time, frameworks like Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team highlighted how trust impacts long-term success. Today, global organizations increasingly rely on behavior-based models like Five Behaviors® to systematically diagnose and address trust deficits within teams.

Significance for Corporates

For corporates, trust impacts everything from innovation to employee retention. A Harvard Business Review study found that high-trust organizations experience 74% less stress and 50% higher productivity. Additionally, teams with high trust levels report stronger collaboration, faster problem-solving, and increased accountability. The Five Behaviors model offers a structured pathway to build this trust intentionally.

Key Elements of Building Trust

Vulnerability-Based Trust

Unlike predictive trust based on reliability, vulnerability-based trust arises when team members are open about mistakes, gaps, and fears. This form of trust encourages honesty and eliminates blame culture.

Psychological Safety

Teams need to feel safe to speak up. Five Behaviors interventions promote a psychologically safe space where voices are heard without judgment.

Behavioral Anchors

The Five Behaviors model incorporates DISC insights to help individuals understand how their behavior fosters or erodes trust within teams.

Challenges and Myths

Despite growing awareness, many teams still believe that trust ‘just happens’ over time. However, trust is not an automatic outcome of time spent together. Another myth is that high trust means avoiding conflict; in fact, trust enables teams to engage in healthy, productive disagreements. Without guided interventions, building trust can remain an abstract, elusive goal.

Best Practices to Build Trust in Teams

It is recommended to begin with a Five Behaviors assessment to surface current team dynamics.

1. Encourage leaders to model vulnerability during sessions.
2. Use team exercises to identify trust blockers.
3. Integrate DISC profiles to understand communication preferences.
4. Follow-up with coaching and action planning sessions.
5. Celebrate small trust wins to reinforce the shift.

Emerging Trends

Hybrid teams and digital collaboration tools require intentional efforts to build and sustain trust. Organizations are investing in virtual Five Behaviors workshops and using AI-powered pulse checks to monitor team dynamics. Trust-building is no longer a once-a-year workshop but a continuous cultural practice.

Conclusion

Trust is the cornerstone of team effectiveness. The Five Behaviors model, when applied consistently, empowers teams to overcome dysfunctions and create a culture of openness and respect. Strengthscape’s expertise in facilitating this journey ensures measurable outcomes. Get in touch to explore how our workshops can build trust in your teams today.