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R6 Siege:
Building Trust

Become the source of trust in your Rainbow Six Siege team!

"There are two reasons why we don’t trust people.
First- we don’t know them.
Second- we know them."

- Anonymous

Building Trust:
Introduction

Building trust in an R6 Siege team is a long, perhaps even tedious process.
Whether you will succeed depends primarily on how you treat teammates every day.
team-spirit-2447163_640_compressed
It is about our day-to-day small decisions that build either good or bad trajectory of our relationships with other people.
Those small, seemingly insignificant choices add up. The key question is – to what?
 
Therefore, if you are looking for a quick tip, then you will be disappointed with this guide. 
Our guide focuses on perceptibly easy to do small steps. Each step on its own done once is insignificant.
Hell, all of those steps done once are not going to make any difference either. In fact, you probably won’t notice much of a change for a while.
However, if you make below points part of your identity, of your habits in how you treat others, then we promise you – the results will be nothing short of amazing.
 
You will gain trust from your teammates, which helps to make tough decisions. You will get people’s goodwill that retains the spirit of a team and supports continuous improvement. 
Perhaps you will use those habits outside of the game to how you treat your friends, family, and co-workers/classmates.
But most importantly – You will trust and respect yourself.

WHAT IS TRUST?

As per the Oxford dictionary, trust is defined as believing that “somebody/something will do what you hope or expect of them or that what they tell you is correct or true.”
At its core, trust is an emotional, but also a logical action.
 
From an emotional point of view, it is an act of showing your vulnerability or weaknesses to the other person, while believing that they won’t exploit the advantage gained through your openness.
The logical aspect of trust is an assessment of the probability for pros and cons, of potential gains and losses. 
Of course, such a calculation is done primarily on a subconscious level, and you may not even be aware of it. Such an assessment is based on experiences, memories, the perceived image of a trusted (or not) person, and yourself. 
 
So basically trust is a feeling that is both rational and irrational. You may feel like you trust or don’t trust someone, even though at times, you are not sure where this feeling is coming from. 
Let’s break it down a little more.
 
Trust can be split into quite a few dimensions. We will focus on two main dimensions of trust present when building it within your team in Rainbow Six Siege.
Those dimensions are:

Delayed Reciprocity

What allows teams and societies to function properly is that we give something now, with expected gain in the future. 
In R6 Siege, such an exchange takes place when you dedicate your time and energy to the group of people, or when you agree to perform a task or fill in a role that does not fully suit you. 
 
You expect rewards sometime in the future by improving as an individual and as a team. Alternatively, if you are less improvement focused, you may expect simply to reach a mutual goal – i.e., a certain rank or qualifying for a tournament.
However, without trust in place, you are likely to feel like you give something for nothing. Therefore, trust is the key element of what helps you mitigate the unpredictability, which occurs with such a delay of gains.

Vulnerability

When building a team in Rainbow Six Siege, you expose yourself on at least a basic level to other people within the team. 
 
A leader or not, you are exposing yourself to criticism of your plays or judgment of your skills as a player. 
 
Such exposure is necessary if you want to improve as a player and a team. In fact, in a well functioning team, its members will feel comfortable with making mistakes and occasionally fucking up, trusting that others won’t scrutinize them for trying.

WHY IS TRUST NEEDED?

At its core, trust is a vital component to achieving effective teamwork.
Teamwork, on the other hand, is an integral part of success and improvement as a team in Rainbow Six Siege.
So basically, if you want to ensure improvement as a team, you (as a leader) better create a culture full of trust.
All of us have finite resources of energy, time, and attention. One of the primary tasks of an IGL or Coach in the R6 Siege team is to construct high levels of trust. This trust will allow each member of the team to focus on what truly matters. Instead of spending our valuable resources on insignificant (to improvement) areas, teammates will allocate them to what matters the most to reach your mutual goal!
 
To demonstrate, picture with me the following vision of a dysfunctional team, with trust deficiency:
Team members are not sure what to expect from their IGL or Coach.
One day he is kind and helpful, while on other occasions, a leader shows signs of frustration and passive-aggressive behavior.
Members of the team spend energy trying to decipher each other’s intentions.
People try to read between the lines and look for malicious intent, of both the leader and other teammates. This is especially true when decisions are made that do not benefit individuals, at least not directly nor immediately.
Sure, improvement and progress do sound nice, but… fear of being scrutinized is even greater.
Each member of the team starts prioritizing avoiding the risk of looking bad, of making mistakes. Teammates become more concerned about minimizing the negative consequences of their actions.
There’s a comparison game within the team – people care more about their place in the team’s hierarchy.
 
Would you enjoy being part of such a group?
Do you think you would reach much success as a part of it?
I would answer “no” to both questions, and I think you would, too.

HOW TO:
BUILD TRUST

“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” – Unknown

DON'T BLAME

Mistakes, disappointments, and frustrations happen, especially when you are working on improving your skills and developing as a team.
It is easy to point fingers and find someone to blame for whatever happened. However, doing so won’t help anybody in the long run.
Blaming creates an unpleasant atmosphere within a team. It is a sign of weakness that will undermine trust, especially if blame comes from the leader!
 
Of course, we do not promote avoiding identification of the source of recurring issues. Ignoring problems is not a solution, either. 
We simply encourage you to promote the atmosphere of working together as a team to constructively identify the problem and focus on the solution.
 
Ask the following questions:
  • What can we all do better next time?
  • How can we make sure the issue/problem doesn’t happen again?

ACCOUNTABILITY

You can straightforwardly demonstrate your accountability: Do what you said you would, in times when you should do it – whether it is easy or not. 
The definition is simple, but the execution is not easy.
Understand: Accountability within a team starts with an IGL and Coach, but does not end there. Once you achieve your personal accountability, you should hold others accountable, as well.
 
Another area of accountability lies in tackling issues head-on.
Do your best to discuss problems openly with your team and do not run away from conflicts. People trust those who are big enough to face challenges in a constructive way.

CREDIBILITY

Be reliable, believable, and trustworthy. Walking the walk is the basis of building trust as a leader of the Rainbow Six Siege team.
Whether you are an IGL or Coach, you can use the following actions to help you with achieving credibility:
  • Owning up your failures and mistakes
  • Knowing what you talk about
  • Being transparent and honest

CONSISTENCY

Trust appears in stable environments. It can only shine where everyone knows what to expect from each other.
As an IGL or Coach, you need your message, behavior, and actions to be consistent every day, in all circumstances. Don’t be that guy who is friendly and pleasant when matches are won but gets ugly and negative when the team loses.
 
Also, treat your teammates equally and in the same manner. 

GIVE TRUST TO GET TRUST

Show teammates that you trust their judgment, that you value their opinion as a leader of the R6 Siege team.
You should not only do so with your words but also by allowing teammates to shine!
Give them responsibility, put them in a situation where they can step up and prove themselves.
Periodically give away your authority to team members and rotate role assignments.
 
Remember: You get what you give. The team will return the favor. 

DON'T GOSSIP

Gossip is a disease of relationships with people, especially when it comes to building trust.
As Stephen Covey said: “If you want to retain those who are present, be loyal to those who are absent.
 
In a moment, it may feel like you are strengthening your relationship with the present person, but that’s just an illusion.
How do they know that you are not gossiping about them when they are not around?
Instead, propose to discuss an issue with an impacted person.
Don’t allow a culture of gossiping in your team, and especially don’t provoke it as an IGL or Coach of Rainbow Six Siege team!

SUMMARY:

  • Trust is a fundament of teamwork
  • You cannot coach or IGL successfully without trust in your team
  • Trust takes time and effort
  • Two main reasons why we need trust – delayed reciprocity & vulnerability
  • Trust is a belief that the other person will not take advantage of your vulnerability
  • Trust is necessary for giving something now without immediate rewards
  • Energy, time and attention are wasted when trust is absent within R6 Siege team
  • Avoid blaming others and take personal responsibility for the outcome of your actions
  • Do what you said you would, when you should do – especially when it is hard
  • Walk the walk to create credibility as an IGL or Coach
  • Be consistent – don’t change when shit hits the fan
  • You need to give trust to others to get it from them
  • Put people in situations where they can step up and shine
  • Do not gossip behind people’s back

Continue your journey to
Leadership Mastery in Siege

Get the fundamentals right and be truly effective in the leadership of the R6 Siege team!

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