Trust is essential for successful project management. To build trust, a project manager should be authentic, spend informal time with the team to get to know them, and celebrate successes. They should also be courageous by being firm with facts, admit mistakes, and not avoid bad news. Additionally, a project manager needs to be organized, respectful, a good listener, direct, keep promises, and help the team by getting their hands dirty.

1. The Importance of Trust
for Project Management
Chris Pointon
@chrispointon

2. Trust
Trust affects (positively or negatively)
every other project activity
There is personal risk for both sides
of a trusting relationship
You cannot demand trust, only earn it
Trust is much harder to build than to
break
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3. To build trust, you should…
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4. Be yourself
Bring your personality to everything you
do - be authentic. You're not a Gantt
chart.
Spend informal time with the team
sharing some of your personal life
Celebrate success
Encourage initiative
Actively check in on people and seek to
remove any impediments they are
encountering
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5. Be courageous
Be firm, but use facts
Make "executive decisions"
when necessary then own
them for better or worse
Don't avoid bad news, but
concentrate on how to find
positive outcomes
Admit to mistakes
Don't be afraid to fail if that's
the best outcome
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6. Arrive to meetings ahead of time
Schedule "quiet time" ahead of meetings to make
sure you're clear on objectives and roles
Be clear about project goals and tie all feedback,
positive or negative to them to take the sting out of
criticism
Minimize large meetings and keep control of them
when they happen
Be consistent. Keep careful notes, especially around
decisions. Remember what you told people.
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Be organised

7. Be respectful
Use appropriate forums for negative
feedback - no throwing under the bus
Delegate where possible
Listen
Seek consensus. Make sure everyone
is heard.
Be direct
Understand motivations and try to
communicate in those terms
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8. Make good on your promises. All of them. No
compromise
Dig into issues to understand them and help bump
team members out of ruts
If something smells wrong, it probably is wrong, and
it's your job to point it out
Develop “spidey senses” to spot things on the
periphery that bring value to your project
Stay up to date with the wider business context and
how the project brings value to it
Get your hands dirty when you can
Let your team see what you do on their behalf
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Be smart