How to Build Trust in Teams: Remote Collaboration, Psychological Safety, and Leadership Chemistry

By Dr. Janice Perkins, PhD, PCC | Executive Coach and Leadership Communication Researcher

Everybody wants trust on their team.

Leaders want employees to trust them. Employees want to trust leadership. And organizations want teams that collaborate, communicate, and hold one another accountable.

But here's the question I keep coming back to:

What are we actually doing to create the conditions for trust?

We talk about trust as if it's something people should automatically give us because we have a title, share a mission, or work for the same organization.

It doesn't work that way.

In my doctoral research on interpersonal chemistry, I explored what happens between people when relationships become generative and what gets in the way.

One of the things I've learned through my research and executive coaching is that trust isn't simply about whether people like each other.

It's about whether people can show up honestly, contribute meaningfully, navigate disagreement, and rely on one another when things get uncomfortable.

And that takes more than a team-building exercise.

Let's explore eight questions leaders are asking about building trust at work.

How to build trust in a new remote team?

When you're building a new remote team, you don't have the benefit of hallway conversations, informal lunches, or those small interactions that help people get to know one another.

That means leaders have to be more intentional.

But intentional doesn't necessarily mean scheduling more Zoom meetings.

Start with clarity.

Does everyone understand their role? Who makes decisions? What does accountability look like? How do we communicate when something isn't working?

Then focus on consistency.

Do what you say you're going to do. Follow through. Communicate changes. And when you make a mistake, acknowledge it.

I also encourage leaders to create opportunities for people to know one another beyond their job descriptions.

Not forced vulnerability. Not another awkward icebreaker.

Real conversations that allow people to understand how their colleagues think, communicate, and approach their work.

Trust grows when people experience consistency between what we say, what we do, and how we treat them.

Remote work doesn't eliminate opportunities for trust. It simply requires leaders to be more deliberate about creating them.

Best online team building activities for fostering trust?

I'm all for having fun at work.

Virtual trivia, online escape rooms, collaborative challenges, and team games can create opportunities for laughter and connection.

And laughter matters.

But let's not confuse having a good time with building a high-trust team.

You can have a wonderful virtual happy hour and still avoid every difficult conversation at work.

If your goal is actually to strengthen trust, I recommend activities that help people understand how they work together.

For example:

• Communication preference exercises: Explore how different people prefer to receive information, feedback, and recognition.

• Collaborative problem-solving: Give teams a challenge that requires them to negotiate priorities and make decisions together.

• Expectation exchanges: Ask people to identify what they need from teammates to do their best work.

• Team agreements: Develop shared expectations around communication, accountability, and conflict.

• Structured reflection: Discuss what helped the team collaborate and what got in the way. One of my favorite beginning exercises with teams is called Backward Reflexivity. Each member of the team shares the three most pivotal moments of their past that has led them to where they are right now.

The activity itself isn't always the most important part.

It's what people learn about one another through the experience.

Connection can feel good. Chemistry moves something.

Choose activities that create both.

Consulting firms specializing in improving team psychological safety?

When organizations recognize that employees aren't speaking up, challenging decisions, or sharing concerns, they often start looking for psychological safety consultants.

That's a reasonable place to begin.

But I encourage leaders to look beyond the terminology.

Psychological safety isn't about making everyone comfortable.

It's about creating conditions where people can participate honestly, even when things are uncomfortable.

A consulting firm specializing in psychological safety should be able to help an organization identify the behaviors, communication patterns, and leadership dynamics that make it difficult for people to contribute.

That may include leadership assessments, facilitated conversations, executive coaching, team development, and organizational culture work.

When evaluating a consultant, I would ask:

Do they understand the difference between psychological safety and avoiding accountability?

Can they help us address real interpersonal dynamics rather than simply deliver a presentation?

Will leaders be challenged to examine their own behavior?

And will the work translate into practical changes after the consultant leaves?

Through my work at Capacity, I help executive teams examine the relational dynamics influencing communication, collaboration, and leadership effectiveness. My approach is grounded in leadership communication, executive coaching, and research on interpersonal chemistry.

Because psychological safety isn't something you can declare in a meeting.

It's something people experience through repeated interactions.

How do top consulting firms help organizations enhance team trust?

Effective organizational consultants don't begin by assuming that a team simply needs to get along better. They investigate what's actually happening.

Where is communication breaking down? Who holds decision-making authority? What happens when people disagree? Are employees treated as experts in their areas, or are their contributions routinely dismissed?

Sometimes the issue is interpersonal.

Sometimes it's structural.

And often it's both.

A comprehensive team-trust engagement may include confidential interviews, leadership assessments, facilitated team conversations, executive coaching, and agreements around communication and accountability.

But here's where I believe the real work begins.

Trust isn't built through a report about what's wrong. It's built when leaders change what happens next.

If employees share concerns and nothing changes, what have we taught them?

If we ask for honest feedback and then punish the people who provide it, why would they speak up again?

If we delegate responsibility without authority, why would people believe we trust them?

I encourage organizations to pay attention to the gap between what leaders say they value and what employees actually experience.

That's where credibility is either strengthened or damaged.

Where can I find online courses focused on developing trust among team members?

There are several places to explore online learning focused on workplace trust, leadership communication, psychological safety, and team development. That's easy to find on common online course providers for professional development, but they can't teach you what happens in the space between people. That has to happen in person, together.

Learning about trust and knowing how to create it are two different things.

Look for programs that address communication, conflict resolution, emotional awareness, accountability, feedback, and decision-making.

More importantly, look for opportunities to practice.

Can participants apply the concepts to real situations? Are they learning how to have difficult conversations? Can they recognize their own defensive behaviors and assumptions?

A course can introduce an idea.

Practice is what helps turn that idea into a different leadership behavior.

And that's where meaningful development happens.

How do I find local workshops on enhancing team collaboration and trust?

Local leadership workshops can be particularly valuable because teams have the opportunity to work through challenges together in real time.

But the location isn't nearly as important as the quality of the experience.

When selecting a workshop, I would encourage leaders to look for interactive learning, practical application, and a facilitator who understands organizational dynamics.

A team may need to clarify decision rights. Another may need to address conflict avoidance. Another may need to develop communication agreements or rebuild credibility after organizational change.

Those are different challenges and shouldn't automatically receive the same workshop.

I also encourage leaders to ask whether they click with the facilitator.

That matters.

Through Capacity, I facilitate leadership development workshops, executive team sessions, and organizational retreats, including work with teams in Wichita, Kansas, and the surrounding region.

My goal isn't to deliver information people forget by Monday.

It's to create an experience that helps people recognize what's happening between them and leave with something they can use immediately.

A good workshop creates awareness. A great one changes what people do next.

How do I find training programs for managers on fostering trust within their teams?

Managers play an enormous role in how employees experience trust at work.

And sometimes managers unintentionally undermine the very trust they're trying to build.

They say they want employees to take ownership, but they make every decision.

They say their door is always open, but become defensive when someone challenges them.

They ask for accountability but don't clarify expectations.

Sound familiar?

Manager training should help leaders recognize the difference between their intentions and their impact.

I encourage training that develops five capabilities:

1. Self-awareness: Recognize how your own assumptions, expectations, and emotional responses influence others.

2. Communication: Learn to ask better questions, listen with curiosity, and give direct feedback without diminishing dignity.

3. Delegation and agency: Give employees the authority and clarity necessary to own their work.

4. Accountability: Establish agreements and follow through without relying on control or intimidation.

5. Conflict capacity: Learn to stay engaged when conversations become uncomfortable.

One of the shifts I teach leaders is moving from being the controller of the work to becoming someone who builds the capacity of others through stronger delegation frameworks and giving of agency through decision rights.

That requires a willingness to let people think, contribute, make decisions, and sometimes make mistakes.

You can't tell employees you trust them while controlling every decision they make.

Trust requires leaders to demonstrate it through their behavior.

What are the key indicators of low trust in a work team?

Low trust doesn't always look like open conflict.

Sometimes it looks like silence.

People stop challenging decisions. They avoid difficult conversations. They share their real opinions privately instead of in meetings.

They spend more time protecting themselves than solving problems.

Some warning signs I encourage leaders to watch for include:

• Employees withholding information or avoiding honest feedback.

• Gossip, side conversations, and passive-aggressive behavior.

• Leaders micromanaging decisions and responsibilities.

• People blaming other departments instead of solving problems together.

• Team members becoming defensive when challenged.

• Employees questioning whether leadership will follow through.

• Meetings where everyone agrees publicly but disagrees privately.

• People becoming reluctant to take initiative or accept responsibility.

I call the energy wasted navigating these dynamics relational drag.

And it can become incredibly expensive for an organization.

Not just financially, but in lost creativity, slower decisions, damaged relationships, and employee disengagement.

In my research, I identified relational conditions such as dignity, legitimacy, containment, and agency that influence how interpersonal chemistry develops.

When people experience judgment, agenda control, or unnecessary power dynamics, the interaction can become less generative.

But here's something important.

Low trust isn't always evidence that people don't care. Sometimes it's evidence that the conditions for trust haven't been created or maintained.

That distinction matters because it changes where leaders focus their attention.

Instead of asking, "Why won't my employees trust me?" ask, "What are they experiencing that makes trust difficult?"

That's a much more productive conversation.

You Don't Have a Trust Problem. You Have a Chemistry Problem.

Here's what I want leaders to consider.

What if trust isn't the starting point?

What if trust is strengthened through the relational conditions we create and the interactions people experience?

My doctoral research explores chemistry as a co-created, generative interactional system.

It's more than liking someone, having similar personalities, or enjoying working together.

It's about what becomes possible between people.

When dignity, legitimacy, agency, and other relational conditions are present, people have a stronger foundation for meaningful collaboration.

When those conditions are missing, teams can become stuck in defensiveness, avoidance, power struggles, and relational drag.

So before scheduling another trust-building activity or asking employees to communicate better, take a look at what is actually happening on your team.

Are people safe to disagree?

Do they have the authority to contribute?

Are leaders demonstrating the behaviors they expect from others?

And are the interactions between people creating momentum or consuming energy?

You don't create trust by demanding it. You create conditions where people have reasons to extend it.

Because connection can feel good.

But chemistry moves something.

And that's where stronger teams begin.

Dr. Janice Perkins, PhD, PCC, is an executive coach, leadership communication researcher, and founder of Capacity. Her work focuses on leadership chemistry, executive team development, organizational culture, and helping leaders create the conditions for stronger communication, collaboration, and meaningful change.

Learn more at janice-perkins.com.