Historically, the construction industry has suffered from a reluctance to raise issues or concerns at project or programme team level for fear of this being considered a negative or disruptive influence. The ability to raise concerns is important to improving performance, and it requires trust that other team members will take these concerns seriously and will not be protective of their interests in a way that hinders progress,
Collaborative procurement and contracts encourage the early and open identification of issues, and high-performing teams can focus on collectively resolving these issues, not on blaming individuals or organisations. In this way they are better able to develop the mutual trust required to confront issues without being confrontational.
In this context trust is the confidence among team members that their peers' intentions are constructive and that there are no reasons to be protective or suspicious of these intentions. The ability of team members to acknowledge vulnerabilities is a pre-requisite to improving performance, and it goes hand in hand with contracts that clearly describe collaborative relationships and processes and equitable risk management.