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Team Trust Assessment

This team trust assessment is a free set of 12 questions that helps a team see how much trust exists between its members: openness about mistakes, honest debate, reliability and goodwill. Each person answers privately and gets a score in their browser. The team then compares scores and discusses the questions with the lowest ratings. It is a conversation starter, not a psychometric measure.

By Rula Husseini, ICF PCC · Reviewed 3 November 2026

Woman in a patterned hijab pointing to notes on a glass wall as colleagues watch

Think about how this team works together day to day. Rate how far you agree with each statement. Answer for the team as it is now, not as it should be. Nothing you enter is stored or shared.

  1. People on this team admit mistakes openly.
  2. We raise concerns in the meeting, not after it.
  3. Team members ask each other for help without worrying how it looks.
  4. When we disagree, we debate the issue, not the person.
  5. I can rely on colleagues to do what they say they will do.
  6. Information is shared openly, not held back for advantage.
  7. Credit for success is shared fairly.
  8. People give each other direct, respectful feedback.
  9. Junior members feel able to challenge senior members' ideas.
  10. Once we make a decision, everyone supports it, including those who argued against it.
  11. I believe colleagues would defend my reputation when I am not in the room.
  12. We talk about how we work together, not only about what we deliver.

How to run the team trust assessment

  1. 01

    Explain the purpose first

    Tell the team this is a reflection exercise to improve how you work together, not a performance measure, and that no one will be asked to reveal individual answers.

  2. 02

    Everyone answers privately

    Each person takes the 12 questions on their own device and writes down only their overall percentage and their three lowest-rated questions.

  3. 03

    Collect results anonymously

    Use slips of paper or an anonymous form. The team leader should not see who wrote what.

  4. 04

    Discuss patterns, not people

    Share the range of scores and the questions that appear most often among the lowest. Ask: what would it take to move one of these?

  5. 05

    Agree one change and repeat in three months

    One specific commitment that the team keeps builds more trust than a long list of good intentions.

The spread of scores matters as much as the average

A team where everyone scores around 60% has a shared picture of itself. A team where scores range from 30% to 90% has two different experiences in the same room, and that gap is the most important finding.

Wide spreads often follow lines worth noticing: newer and longer-serving members, different locations, different levels of seniority or, in multicultural Gulf teams, different expectations about how openly people should disagree. Name the gap carefully and without blame.

Which questions point to which kind of trust

Area of trustQuestionsA low score often looks like
Openness about mistakes and needs1, 3 and 12Problems surface late; people struggle alone
Candour and healthy debate2, 4, 8 and 9Quiet meetings, then side conversations afterwards
Reliability and commitment5 and 10Decisions get reopened; deadlines slip without warning
Goodwill6, 7 and 11Information hoarding, credit-taking, guarded behaviour

An example: a newly merged leadership team

Imagine two regional leadership teams merged into one after a restructure. The average score is 55%, but the spread is wide: members from one legacy team score in the 70s, the others in the 30s and 40s. The lowest-rated questions are 6 and 11, information sharing and goodwill.

Instead of a general talk about trust, the team agrees one change: every project update goes into one shared tracker, visible to all. It sounds small. Three months later, question 6 has moved for almost everyone, and the team is ready for a harder conversation about credit and reputation.

Mistakes that make a trust assessment backfire

  • Running it without a plan to act. Asking about trust and then doing nothing damages it further.
  • Letting the leader see individual answers. Even well-intended, it makes honest answers unsafe next time.
  • Treating a low score as an accusation. It describes the team system, not one person.
  • Using it in the middle of a crisis or restructure without support. In those moments, a facilitated conversation is safer than a do-it-yourself discussion.

When team coaching helps rebuild trust

Some teams can take the result and run a useful conversation on their own. Others find that the lowest scores are exactly the things nobody feels able to say out loud. That is where a neutral coach helps. Team trust building uses facilitated sessions, team reflection and follow-up to turn the conversation into changed behaviour.

Trust and psychological safety are closely linked; read what psychological safety is for the difference. For the bigger picture of what strong teams have in common, see what a high-performing team is.

About the author

Rula Husseini is an Executive Leadership & Mindset Coach (ICF PCC) based in Manama, Bahrain, with 26+ years in leadership, HR and talent development and 4,500+ coaching hours. She coaches executives, emerging leaders and teams in Arabic and English, in person and online.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the team trust assessment scientifically validated?

No. It is a reflective tool designed to start an honest conversation, not a psychometric instrument. Do not use it to compare teams, rate managers or make HR decisions.

Should the team leader take it too?

Yes. The leader's view is part of the picture, and a gap between the leader's score and the team's is often revealing. The leader should share their score openly to model the honesty they are asking for.

How big a team can use this?

It works best with teams of around four to twelve people who work together regularly. In larger groups, run it by sub-team so the discussion stays specific.

How often should we repeat it?

Every three to six months is enough to see whether the changes you agreed are working. Repeating it more often tends to measure the mood of the week.

What if our scores are very low?

Treat that as useful information, not a failure. Start with one small, visible commitment and consider bringing in a facilitator for the first discussion, so it stays safe for everyone.

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