Having a shared understanding of what trust is, what it looks like, and common language to describe it is a powerful tool for any team. The BRAVING framework offers an entry point to explore trust as a team.
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Preparing for This Activity
- Anticipated Duration: 45–60 minutes.
- Preparation Level: Low to Mid
- Suitable for: In person and remote meetings
- Materials:
- BRAVING Inventory handout
- Sticky notes
- Flipchart and/or shared doc
Roadmap
Frame the conversation by explaining the following.
- The goal of this exercise is to explore a research-based model of trust, BRAVING, as a framework for team dialogue about what builds trust and what can erode it.
- The BRAVING Inventory includes:
- Boundaries
- Reliability
- Accountability
- Vault
- Integrity
- Nonjudgement
- Generosity
Instructions
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1. Individual Reflection (5 minutes or send as pre-work)
- Give each team member the BRAVING handout.
- For each element of trust, have each member rate on a scale of 1–4 how frequently the team delivers on each element. (1=rarely, 2=sometimes, 3=often, 4=consistently).
2. Small Groups: Pair and Share or Trios (8 minutes)
- Ask team members to get into pairs or trios to share their ratings.
- Remind team members that there are no right or wrong answers, simply individual reflections, and experiences that we can all learn from.
3. Operationalize (10 minutes)
- While the small groups are sharing their reflections, hang up one flip chart for each of the seven elements of trust.
- If guiding virtually, create a shared document for each of the seven elements and space for bullet points below each element.
- Provide sticky notes to small groups.
- If you are guiding virtually, provide a link to a shared document.
- Ask team members to write down 1–3 behaviors that support each BRAVING element.
- If needed, offer the following guidance:
- What would this element look like in action?
- What behaviors would you expect to see for this element to be in alignment?
- One behavior per sticky note or bullet point in a shared doc.
- Invite team members to add their behaviors to the appropriate element.
- If needed, offer the following guidance:
4. Commitment (15–30 minutes)
- Invite the team to review the behaviors for each element.
- Encourage consolidating similar ideas, asking clarifying questions, and identifying larger themes.
- Work together to identify one behavior that the entire team can get behind and commit to for each element.
5. Make it Visible
- Brainstorm as a team on how to keep your BRAVING behavior commitments visible.
- Revisit them bi-annually or annually to adjust commitments as helpful.
Closing Thoughts
Consider the following facilitation tips as you guide this exercise.
- Add an optional check-in. If you have time and want to expand the discussion of trust:
- Invite each team member to bring an image that represents trust to them.
- Begin the exercise by asking everyone to share their image and briefly explain why it represents trust for them.
- Encourage concise sharing to keep check-in focused and equitable.
- Set the tone. Emphasize dialogue about — not diagnosis of — the elements. There are no right or wrong reflections.
- Keep it anonymous. When adding desired behaviors to each of the BRAVING elements:
- If using sticky notes, use the same color for all contributions or mix colors randomly so individual responses can’t be linked to a specific person.
- If using a shared document, remind team members to work anonymously in the document. (They need to log out of their Google Account before opening a link to a Google doc.)
- Onboarding: Include the BRAVING model and your behavior commitments as a part of onboarding a new team member. Ensure they have the shared language and are clear about the trusting behaviors the team has committed to.