Building trust
Principles of trust:
Trust only goes one way in the beginning. Leaders must trust new hires to do their job because that is why you hired them, based on their resume, experience, interviews, trials, references, portfolio, etc. Yet, the employee has no experience with you, the manager; or the company. So in actuality, the employee has every reason not to trust the employer, and not the other way around.
Trust can rarely be re-earned. Once you’ve done something untrustworthy like lie; you will never be able to delete that experience. You can only set expectations and communicate.
Trust is maintained through behaviors. Do not expect trust if you don’t give reasons to give it, like not maintaining a psychologically safe workplace or not checking in.
Why should we care more about trust at work?
It’s the difference between an organization where everyone feels ownership over their responsibilities and moves forward together along a roadmap, getting better as we go. Versus an organization that leads with fear, where people come in and just do what they’re told, we basically train everyone to not waste energy being creative or caring about their work.
Basically, without trust, you head straight toward complacency.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, people at companies that prioritize a high-trust environment feel “74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burnout than people at low-trust companies.”
Let’s flip that around – people in low trust environments experience more stress, less energy, less productivity, more sick days, less engagement, less satisfaction, and more burnout. Low trust environments tend to be the status quo, based on the rise in return-to-office mandates and use of digital employee trackers.
How to build it
Without trust, it’s easy for employees to feel unmotivated, unappreciated, and unsupported. Here are some simple, practical steps you can take to create a more trusting and supportive environment within your team:
Delegate tasks early and clearly. Let your team know you believe in them. Assign responsibilities with confidence, and show you trust their ability to get the job done.
Keep your promises. Big or small, following through on what you say builds reliability and trust over time.
Be open about decisions. Share your thought process behind choices so your team understands the "why" and feels more connected to the direction you’re heading.
Own your mistakes. No one’s perfect, and admitting when you’re wrong shows humility and accountability.
Give regular, constructive feedback. Don’t leave people guessing about how they’re doing. Clear, supportive feedback helps everyone stay on track and grow.
Respect their boundaries. Unless it’s an emergency, avoid emails or extra tasks outside of work hours. It shows you value about their time and well-being.
Celebrate wins, big and small. Whether it’s a huge milestone or a small victory, take the time to acknowledge achievements. A little recognition goes a long way in keeping morale high.
Be the example. If you want trust and accountability in your team, model it yourself. Be honest, transparent, and consistent in your actions.
Building trust takes effort. Start small, be consistent, and watch how your team steps up and .
How to destroy it
Losing trust can happen in the blink of an eye. If you want to set up a strong relationship with all the individuals on your team, take a beat to ask yourself – and truly be honest – if you’re guilty of any of these things:
Breaking promises. If you keep making commitments but don’t follow through, people will stop asking.
Keeping people in the dark. Trust requires transparency, because there isn’t a good reason to hide anything. If you’re withholding important info or being secretive, your team is going to feel like they’re not important enough to know what’s going on until it affects them.
Playing favorites. Showing extra love to certain individuals can create resentment. Be fair and treat everyone equally. Ask yourself, if this person wasn’t my friend, would I treat them differently as an employee?
Being inconsistent or unfair. People notice when decisions seem random or biased. A steady approach builds stability and confidence in your leadership.
Surprises about performance. If I suddenly end up in a performance improvement plan meeting, but it’s the first time I’m hearing the feedback, it’s going to feel like a trap. Likewise, if you see a strength in your team members, tell them! Sometimes recognizing a positive behavior can be enough for someone to get inspired to develop it.
Taking credit for others’ work. Always give credit where it’s due. Recognizing your team’s efforts while also accepting blame as a leader, proves to your team that you’ll go to bat for them and lift them up. This helps them trust you with their ideas and their career journey – because they’ll feel confident that you have their best interest at heart.
Micromanaging. Nobody likes a helicopter boss or constant interruptions just to provide status updates or pivots based on the opinions of a few. Trust your people to do their jobs, and they’ll feel more confident and autonomous to push things forward and innovate.
Dismissing feedback. When you brush off their suggestions because it’s uncomfortable to hear personally, it sends the message that their opinions don’t matter.
Only focusing on results. Hitting goals is important, but the constant drumbeat of LFG! LFG! can lead to toxic hustle culture – and often, decline of enthusiasm along with it. Their mental and physical well-being matters too, so make sure you’re taking the time to learn, celebrate, iterate, and innovate, along the way.
Trust grows from the little things you do every day – consistently. It’s about truly living your company’s values and the values of a good leader. This makes it easy to make aligned choices for your team every day.
