Charlie and I got to share a lot of great stories in The Fieldbook. In fact, for me it was the best part of writing the book. One of my favorite stories is a reprise from The Trusted Advisor. It tells the tale that’s part cautionary, part inspirational, all business. And worth repeating.

If you’re in the U.S., or familiar with current U.S. sitcoms, you might know Phil Dunphy, the self-described “cool dad” on Modern Family.

Phil is likable, loyal, goofy, pun-happy, and often the subject of wife Clare’s frustration and eye rolls as he tries hard to do right by her and often (cluelessly) gets it wrong.

We’re continuing last week’s focus on building trust at a distance because it’s a challenge for so many of us.

Here’s a quick recap of the first four best practices, all of which increase familiarity—a sense of knowing one another—by increasing reliability:

At the risk of stating the obvious, trust is critical for teams, and even more so for teams who collaborate at a distance. In my workshops, we talk a lot about making closer and more personal connections with people, and the question naturally arises, “Is it even possible to build that kind of trust at a distance?”