How to identify key trust builders in teams

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

One of my client companies recently made a bold shift: They replaced their Engagement KPI with a Trust KPI. And it’s one of the smartest moves I’ve seen. Why? Because trust is not a byproduct of engagement - it’s the precondition. 📚 Research backs this up: A meta-analysis by De Jong et al. (2016) found that team trust is a strong predictor of performance, especially in high-interdependence teams. Yet we treat trust like something we either have or don’t. 👉But trust isn’t a mood but rather a design decision. To start with, we need to understand 3 types of trust: 1. Cognitive 2. Affective 3. Swift Most leaders focus on cognitive or affective trust - built over time. But there’s a third type they don’t know about: Swift Trust. 📍Swift Trust forms quickly in temporary, remote, or fast-moving teams. It doesn’t require deep familiarity, it requires structure. And here’s how leaders can engineer it: ✔️ Start with clearly defined roles and expectations ✔️ Align fast around shared goals and purpose ✔️ Create quick wins that build early credibility ✔️ Model openness and ask for input from day one ✔️ Name the importance of trust explicitly In other words, trust isn’t “earned slowly” in every context. It can be catalyzed intentionally if you know how. That’s what I’m helping this client do: not just educate about trust but build it inside the team with psychological safety and my method, one behavior and ritual at a time. Because when trust becomes a designed feature, not an accidental outcome - performance, inclusion, and engagement follow. P.S.: Which type of trust is most alive in your team right now?

Trust is built through actions, not words! Trust is at the heart of any effective leadership style. I’ve found that it can make or break a team's performance, morale and overall success. Today, I want to share some insights on building and maintaining trust within your team, based on my 20+ years of experience in leadership roles. Transparency is Key: Share important updates, both good and bad. If something isn't going well, it’s better to let your team know rather than keeping them in the dark. People appreciate honesty. Open-Door Policy: Make sure you're approachable. If team members feel they can come to you with any problems or suggestions, you’re on the right track. Be Consistent: Try to treat everyone fairly and keep your promises. If people know what to expect from you, they're more likely to trust you. Acknowledge Mistakes: We're all human... we all make mistakes. Owning up to them shows maturity and reliability, two qualities that help build trust. Provide Feedback: Positive or constructive, feedback helps team members know where they stand and how they can improve. It's a two-way street... encourage them to provide you with feedback too. Tip: Always use Positive Reinforcement when giving feedback... don't make it all about the individuals shortcomings. Empower Your Team: Delegating tasks or responsibilities not only shows you trust your team's skills but also encourages their own development. The sense of ownership they get from it often leads to better results. Show Appreciation: Recognize and reward good work. Simple acts of appreciation can go a long way in building a positive and trusting work environment. Stick to Your Values: Integrity is crucial. If your actions reflect your words, people are more likely to trust you. Active Listening: Take the time to listen to your team's concerns and ideas. This not only fosters trust but can also provide you with valuable insights. Follow Through: If you commit to something, do everything in your power to make it happen. This confirms that you're reliable, further building trust. Leadership isn't about pretending to have all the answers. Simon Sinek - "In leadership, the quickest way to lose trust is to pretend you have all the answers. The best way to build it is to prove you don't." #LeadershipTrust #BuildingTeams #TransparencyInLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #EffectiveLeadership

Stop checking your team's timesheets. Start checking their impact. After 25+ years leading teams, here's what I know for sure: The tighter you hold on, the faster talent slips away. I learned this the hard way, when I tracked every minute of my team's day. Spoiler alert: It killed creativity and crushed motivation. Here's my 7-step system to build a high-trust team: 1/ Master the Art of Letting Go ↳ Define the "what," skip the "how" ↳ Give them room to innovate ✅ Review outcomes, not activities 2/ Kill the "Always On" Culture ↳ Stop praising midnight emails ↳ Ban weekend Slack messages ✅ Set boundaries, watch productivity soar 3/ Create Psychological Safety ↳ Make it safe to fail fast ↳ Celebrate quick recoveries ✅ Turn mistakes into team learning 4/ Hire Smart, Trust More ↳ Recruit for judgment, not just skills ↳ Give full ownership from day one ✅ Let them surprise you with solutions 5/ Enable Smart Decisions ↳ Share the full context upfront ↳ Make your thinking visible ✅ Trust them to course-correct 6/ Build Decision Confidence ↳ Start with small autonomy wins ↳ Gradually increase scope ✅ Watch their judgment strengthen 7/ Show, Don't Tell ↳ Model the behavior you expect ↳ Be first to admit mistakes ✅ Share your learning journey Truth is: Micromanagement is fear in a business suit. Timesheets won't create the next breakthrough. Giving your team space to think differently will. Stop checking time, start trusting talent. What’s one outcome you track that matters more than hours logged? ♻️ Repost to help others build trust. 🔔 Follow me (Nadeem Ahmad) for more.

Your team doesn't trust you. Here's how I know. Count how many times this happened last week. If it's more than 3, you have a trust problem. And it's costing you more than you think. The signs are everywhere: They document every conversation with you. Not for clarity. For protection. The "Reply All" epidemic on routine emails. When people CC everyone, they're building witnesses. Meetings after your meetings are longer than the actual meetings. Real alignment happens in parking lots and Slack DMs. 💡 Reality: High-trust teams move 5x faster because they skip the CYA theater. I learned this watching a VP destroy her department in 6 months. Smart woman. Great strategist. Zero trust. Her team spent more time covering their backs than doing actual work. → Every decision required written confirmation. → Every idea needed email trails. → Every mistake triggered blame investigations. The result? Top performers fled. Innovation died. Productivity tanked. Here's what low trust actually costs: Time Tax: Everything takes 3x longer → Approval chains for minor decisions → Documentation over execution → Meetings to prepare for meetings Talent Tax: Your best people leave first → High performers won't play politics → They find leaders who trust them → You're left with those who can't leave Innovation Tax: New ideas stop flowing → Why risk anything in a low-trust environment? → People share safe ideas, not bold ones → Your competition gets your team's best thinking The trust builders that actually work: Do What You Say → Every broken promise is remembered → Small commitments matter most → Under-promise if you must, but always deliver Admit When You're Wrong → "I made a mistake" builds more trust than perfection → Take blame publicly, share credit privately → Your team already knows when you screwed up Give Real Autonomy → Stop asking for updates on everything → Let them own outcomes, not just tasks → Trust them to make decisions without you Kill the Politics → No meeting after the meeting → Say the same thing to everyone → Make decisions transparently 💡 Reality: I track trust through response time. When my team stops responding instantly to every message, I know they trust me to not micromanage. The uncomfortable truth? Your team's behavior is a mirror. If they're documenting everything, you've taught them to. If they're playing politics, you've rewarded it. If they're not taking risks, you've punished failure. Trust isn't built in team-building exercises or company retreats. It's built in small moments: → When you don't check their work → When you defend them publicly → When you keep their confidence → When you admit you don't know What trust-killing behavior have you witnessed? Share below 👇 ♻️ Repost if someone needs this reality check. Follow Carolyn Healey for more leadership truths.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥; 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲. If your team doesn’t trust you, they won’t tell you the truth. And if they don’t tell you the truth, you can’t lead. Building trust isn’t a soft skill. It’s a strategy, one that directly impacts communication, accountability, and performance. When I’ve led high-performing teams, trust wasn’t something we hoped for. It was something we built deliberately. Here’s how I do it: 🔹 I invite disagreement. If my team feels like they can’t challenge my thinking, we’re not innovating—we’re just complying. 🔹 I own my mistakes. The fastest way to build psychological safety is to model humility. If I get it wrong, I say so. That gives others permission to do the same. 🔹 I follow through. Trust erodes quickly when leaders don’t do what they say. Small follow-ups build big credibility. 🔹 I advocate for my team behind closed doors. Even when no one sees it, I make sure they know I’ve got their back. That kind of support builds loyalty you can’t fake. 🔹 I show my struggles. When something’s tough, I say so. When I’m overwhelmed, I share it. Vulnerability isn’t weakness; it’s connection. When my team sees that I struggle too, it opens the door for honest, human conversations that lead to real support and solutions. When a team trusts you, they’ll bring issues forward before they explode. They’ll collaborate more, support each other better, and take more ownership because they know the foundation is solid. Trust isn’t optional—it’s operational. And it’s foundational to the way I work now as a fractional leader and consultant. To make an impact, I need the truth from teams, from stakeholders, from data. That only comes when trust is built quickly, deeply, and intentionally. If you're struggling to get your contracts in order, or your procurement is out of control, I'm here to help you get your team aligned and your processes in place so you are effective and efficient. Reach out if you need help. Follow me if you want to see more tips. #Leadership #TeamDevelopment #PsychologicalSafety #Trust #EmpatheticLeadership #OperationalExcellence #VulnerabilityInLeadership #FractionalLeadership #Consulting

I once worked with a team that was, quite frankly, toxic. The same two team members routinely derailed meeting agendas. Eye-rolling was a primary form of communication. Side conversations overtook the official discussion. Most members had disengaged, emotionally checking out while physically present. Trust was nonexistent. This wasn't just unpleasant—it was preventing meaningful work from happening. The transformation began with a deceptively simple intervention: establishing clear community agreements. Not generic "respect each other" platitudes, but specific behavioral norms with concrete descriptions of what they looked like in practice. The team agreed to norms like "Listen to understand," "Speak your truth without blame or judgment," and "Be unattached to outcome." For each norm, we articulated exactly what it looked like in action, providing language and behaviors everyone could recognize. More importantly, we implemented structures to uphold these agreements. A "process observer" role was established, rotating among team members, with the explicit responsibility to name when norms were being upheld or broken during meetings. Initially, this felt awkward. When the process observer first said, "I notice we're interrupting each other, which doesn't align with our agreement to listen fully," the room went silent. But within weeks, team members began to self-regulate, sometimes even catching themselves mid-sentence. Trust didn't build overnight. It grew through consistent small actions that demonstrated reliability and integrity—keeping commitments, following through on tasks, acknowledging mistakes. Meeting time was protected and focused on meaningful work rather than administrative tasks that could be handled via email. The team began to practice active listening techniques, learning to paraphrase each other's ideas before responding. This simple practice dramatically shifted the quality of conversation. One team member later told me, "For the first time, I felt like people were actually trying to understand my perspective rather than waiting for their turn to speak." Six months later, the transformation was remarkable. The same team that once couldn't agree on a meeting agenda was collaboratively designing innovative approaches to their work. Conflicts still emerged, but they were about ideas rather than personalities, and they led to better solutions rather than deeper divisions. The lesson was clear: trust doesn't simply happen through team-building exercises or shared experiences. It must be intentionally cultivated through concrete practices, consistently upheld, and regularly reflected upon. Share one trust-building practice that's worked well in your team experience. P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n

Want to create a high-performing, resilient team? Trust is the key. 🌟 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 — 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here’s a quick breakdown of the 7 core elements of trust and what happens if they’re missing👇 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: - Celebrate small wins. - Tailor praise to individuals. 🛑 Without it? People feel undervalued. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: - Set clear roles - Establish feedback loops. 🛑 Without it? Blame culture takes over. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: - Own your mistakes - Align decisions with team values. 🛑 Without it? Trust drops quickly. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: - Follow through on commitments - Create predictable processes. 🛑 Without it? Inconsistency breeds frustration. 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆: - Acknowledge feelings - Practice active listening. 🛑 Without it? People feel ignored. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: - Share regular updates, especially on tough topics. - Hold open Q&As. 🛑 Without it? Speculation and rumors spread. 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲: - Encourage regular check-ins - Double down on team priorities and impact. 🛑 Without it? Misunderstandings will cause disconnect. Trust is the foundation of every great team. Miss one of these, and you'll see the cracks. 💥 What’s your approach to building trust in your team? Let me know below 👇 --- I'm Hugo Pereira. Co-founder of Ritmoo and fractional growth operator, I've led businesses from $1m to $100m+ while building purpose-driven, resilient teams. Follow me to master growth, leadership, and teamwork. My book, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥, arrives early 2025. #Leadership #TeamManagement #Trust #GrowthLeadership #ScalingUp

How to build real trust on your team (hint: it’s not what you think) We often talk about “building trust” like it’s a one-time exercise or a static state. But trust doesn’t just exist. It’s created—through a loop of behavior. Here’s how great teams actually do it: 🔁 The Trust Loop: 1. Someone takes a risk  • They pitch a bold idea  • They admit a mistake  • They challenge the majority 2. The team responds with respect  • Listens actively  • Seeks to understand  • Avoids blame or judgment 3. Trust deepens  • Because risk was met with safety Then the cycle repeats. 👉 If you want more trust, don’t just say “you can trust me.” Design your team interactions so people feel safe to speak up. Because where there’s psychological safety, there’s real trust. And where there’s trust, performance follows. → How do you encourage risk-taking on your team?