If you could wish for any superpower for your company, what would it be?
You might first think of a strong leadership team, a leading technology or product, or, of course, endless profit. All of these factors are important, but what about your organization’s employees and culture?
Employees set apart companies that do great things for a long time and those that fall short. Encouraging a culture where employees care about and trust one another can be the ultimate superpower and one of the most valuable investments you can make. Especially when it comes to long-term business growth.
However, the only way to establish a foundation of trust is to spend time together. It makes it easier to communicate openly and handle any conflicts. Plus, it boosts employee morale and productivity. When there’s trust and care involved, people are more motivated to do their best work and improve relationships.
Related: How Being a More Generous Leader Drove My Company’s Success
Trust allows for more effective feedback & delegation
Connecting with and trusting your colleagues paves the way for more transparent communication and feedback – the foundation for any successful team.
It all boils down to trust and your relationship with that person. A high-trust environment creates a more open and high-bandwidth environment, which allows you to make progress through hard problems faster.
When it comes to transparent communication, a connection-first culture leaves space for more transparent conversations across the organization that cover the good and the bad. We have an “open book” approach at Wistia, where we share everything from finances to business learnings at regular all-hands meetings. This creates a more connected workplace where trust is at the forefront because everyone knows the agenda in advance and is working from the most accurate information.
This brings me to delegation. If you can’t delegate, you can’t scale, and trust is a major driver in this.
I’ll be honest — I used to struggle with delegation. I thought it was a productivity problem, but it turns out I wasn’t using my resources and team to their full advantage. I was tired, in meetings all day, and things weren’t getting done. It was impacting me and the company. I needed to make a change.
Once I let go and trusted others to take on some of my tasks, it was an immediate game-changer. Delegating allowed me to conserve energy and time to focus on parts of the business where I could uniquely add value and make the most impact. This also empowered other team members to step up and take on more.
I’ve learned that if you can find someone who can do something 80% as well as you, you should delegate it. Ideally, you are finding people who are better than you at what you are delegating. This is where team growth really drives company growth.
I needed to trust others to take on more ownership. One person cannot do it all. Encourage teams to act quickly, gather feedback from customers, and continue moving forward with confidence.
Building trust through connection
Building trust at every company will look different. And it’s a long game. At Wistia, as a remote-first company, we try to find fun and easy ways to get to know each other better while being intentional about in-person time. This means reserving in-person get-togethers for community building and problem-solving.
However, these meet-ups should not center only around work-related discussions or happen just to check a box. They are opportunities for genuine human connection and collaboration outside of the typical work context. They should also feel organic and not like a chore.
Organize fun and unique company offsites that offer new experiences for employees to bond over or encourage smaller gatherings organized by team leads. Everything from adventurous outdoor activities like hiking to more relaxed settings like cooking classes is fair game. It’s also important to make sure that the organization’s leadership team participates in these activities. This strengthens camaraderie and team dynamics while laying the groundwork for a strong, lasting culture of trust that carries over to virtual communication channels like Slack.
The fun shouldn’t stop with in-person gatherings. While some in-person activities don’t translate well online, at Wistia, we’ve found ways to create engaging virtual experiences. From digital gaming tournaments to virtual mini golf and online fitness breaks, there are plenty of opportunities for colleagues to get creative, bond over shared interests, or try something new, all in the spirit of having a good time. These activities help us stay connected and build a tight-knit community over time, even from a distance.
Building a connection-first culture takes a constant drumbeat of doing the right things to maintain trust. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does pay off in the long term if you’re committed. If you’re a startup looking to scale effectively, I highly recommend adding this superpower. It can mean the difference between lasting success and failure as a company.
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