Once selected, trained, motivated, inducted and engaged, team members must be trusted to execute their role, with the full knowledge that they will be supported if they have difficulty. This is true empowerment. This principle works to give the team confidence and belief in their abilities (=morale) and encourages innovation; an essential component of high performance.
If an individual or team has to defend themselves, they put energy into their own protection and image control and not into disclosure and improvement. If a lack of endeavour becomes evident then the person is not committed to project goals (1.) and the leader must correct it.
This is another aspect that is hard to grasp. “What about competence?” “How can we be sure of someone’s capability?”
The Supervisor’s job is to bring out the best performance from the team, which requires an understanding of their capability, something that does not happen overnight. There’s a good Russian proverb, loosely translated as, “Trust but verify”. Bear in mind that the more effort spent verifying the less time available for facilitating excellence.
Trust cannot be “blind” and can be explained as “the residue of past promises fulfilled”
