Tips for Transforming Team Culture

86% of executives believe employee trust is soaring. (Yet only 67% of employees actually trust their leaders.) I remember confidently walking into our quarterly review. Our metrics were up. Our strategy was clear. I thought trust was high. I was wrong. Here's what was really happening: → Top talent quietly updating their LinkedIn. → Real feedback staying buried in private chats. → Innovation dying in "yes" meetings. → Engagement surveys hiding hard truths. After losing three star employees in one month, I realized: Trust isn't built in fancy workshops or team events. It's cultivated through consistent moments that matter. 10 science-backed trust builders that transformed my team: (And won us an award!): 1/ Kill Information Hoarding (It's Hurting You) ↳ 85% trust transparent communicators. ↳ WHY: In the absence of clarity, fear fills the gap. ↳ HOW: Share board meeting notes company-wide. ↳ Pro Tip: Share bad news faster than good news. 2/ Own Your Mistakes (Like Your Career Depends On It) ↳ Leaders who admit errors gain 4x more trust. ↳ WHY: Perfect leaders are feared, not trusted. ↳ HOW: Share mistakes in weekly all-hands. ↳ Pro Tip: Add what you learned and your fix. 3/ Master Active Listening (Beyond The Basics) ↳ 62% trust leaders who truly hear them. ↳ WHY: Everyone knows fake listening from real attention. ↳ HOW: Block "listening hours." No phone, no laptop. ↳ Pro Tip: Summarize what you heard before responding. 4/ Show Real Empathy (It's A Skill, Not A Trait) ↳ 76% trust leaders who understand their challenges. ↳ WHY: People don't care what you know until they know you care. ↳ HOW: Start meetings with "What's challenging you?." ↳ Pro Tip: Follow up on personal matters they share. 5/ Invest In Their Growth (Play The Long Game) ↳ 70% trust leaders who develop their people. ↳ WHY: Investment in them is an investment in trust. ↳ HOW: Give every team member a growth budget. ↳ Pro Tip: Help them grow, even if they might leave. The Results? Our trust scores jumped 43% in six months. Retention hit an all-time high. Real conversations replaced surface-level meetings. Your Next Move: 1. Pick ONE trust builder. 2. Practice it for 7 days. 3. Come back and share what changed. Remember: In a world of AI and automation, trust is your ultimate competitive advantage. ↓ Which trust builder will you start with? Share below. ♻️ Share this with a leader who needs this wake-up call 🔔 Follow me (@Loren) for more evidence-based leadership insights [Sources: HBR, Forbes, Gallup]

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

Transformation isn’t just a new org chart or a shiny tech stack. Transformation is what happens when people start showing up and working differently. When teams shift from confusion to clarity. From reaction to intention. From frustration to engaged. In every transformation I lead, we focus on three core levers: 💎 Enabling new skills that make change possible 💎 Embedding new behaviors that make change happen 💎 Designing new ways of working that make change sustainable Not that long ago, one of my clients had gone through rapid growth, an acquisition and a series of restructures. The future looked promising, yet the engagement metrics weren't reflecting the sentiment at all. From the first day I met with them, it was obvious that the organization was struggling with a common problem: people were exhausted, disengaged, and unsure how to move forward. Leadership was struggling to communicate effectively, and employees didn’t feel connected to the mission anymore. We started with a current state assessment of communications, behaviors, and decision-making norms. It only took a few hours of good questions, leaning into hesitant responses, and supporting moments of uncomfortable truths to ignite a spark of possibility. We rolled out a clear, simple communication strategy aligned to their business goals, hybrid work realities, and regional dynamics. We held a series of working sessions with managers to build their confidence in leading through ambiguity. And we established consistent communication cascades and feedback loops to reinforce the change. Within weeks things felt different. Within months, engagement metrics were up. Employees reported feeling more trusted, more aligned, and more equipped to represent the company with confidence. Most importantly, they began acting more like a team again and the company performance metrics soon followed. This is what real transformation looks like. New skills, new behaviors, new ways of working. It’s capability you build and nurture. It's powerful and it's contagious. Because when people feel clear, connected, and capable, amazing things happen. What has been a turning point for your organization? #TransformationTuesday #OrganizationalChangeManagement #ThePowerOfAnd #TeamCulture

5 tips from my 50+ years of experience that help you build trust within 5 seconds: 1. Build Psychological Safety — Fast: "Tell me where my assumptions might be wrong." Trust grows when people feel safe to challenge power. By inviting correction, you flip the power dynamic — signaling security, not ego. 2. "In this room, truth outranks titles." Hierarchies kill honesty. Great CEOs make truth-telling an institutional habit, not a heroic act. 3. "We will make mistakes — our job is to find them fast, not fear them." Fear of mistakes paralyzes organizations. By normalizing imperfection, leaders accelerate learning and de-risk innovation. 4. "Your input isn’t a favor to me; it’s oxygen for our survival." Trust collapses when people feel disposable. Positioning team contributions as mission-critical drives ownership, not compliance. 5. "If you have bad news, bring it early — you’ll never be punished for honesty here." In high-stakes environments, delay is death. Creating a no-shame culture around bad news preserves speed, agility, and resilience. Leadership without trust is like architecture without foundations.You can decorate the facade... but the first storm will expose everything. Trust is not emotional fluff. It is an operational system. It decides: -How fast problems surface. -How quickly decisions happen. -How fiercely teams stay committed under pressure. If you're a CEO building a high-performance leadership culture, trust must be engineered, not assumed. 🚀 Elite CEOs build speed through trust. Without trust → Speed dies. Without speed → Growth dies. If you're scaling your leadership team and want a sharper edge in trust-driven culture building, DM me. I help leaders hardwire trust into the DNA of their organizations. #ExecutiveCoaching #CEOLeadership #TrustBuilding #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessGrowth

Trust is the bedrock of any high-performing team. As someone who has led multiple organizations and coached executives across industries like real estate and nonprofits, I’ve seen firsthand how trust—or the lack of it—can make or break a team. Drawing from my experiences, failures, and lessons learned, here are three key strategies to build trust within your organization, inspired by insights from Patrick Lencioni’s *The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team*. 1. Set the Tone as a Leader Trust starts at the top. As a leader, you cannot expect your team to foster trust if you’re not actively modeling it. This means creating a culture where openness and collaboration are valued over perfection. I’ve failed in this area before, believing I had to have all the answers. But I’ve learned that projecting invincibility sends a message to your team: “I don’t need you.” That kills trust. Instead, lead by example. Ask for input, listen to your team’s ideas, and show them their voices matter. Building trust isn’t about being flawless—it’s about being authentic and approachable. 2. Embrace Vulnerability Patrick Lencioni emphasizes that trust is rooted in vulnerability, and I couldn’t agree more. For many leaders, admitting mistakes or sharing challenges feels counterintuitive. We’re conditioned to think we need to appear perfect. But perfectionism builds walls, not trust. When you make a mistake, own it. Share it with your team, not to dwell on failure, but to highlight that errors are part of growth. By openly discussing your challenges and uncertainties, you create a safe space for your team to do the same. This vulnerability fosters a culture where learning from mistakes is celebrated, not hidden, strengthening trust across the board. 3. Invest in Relationships Trust doesn’t happen by accident—it requires intentional effort. One of the most effective ways to build trust is by getting to know your team members as individuals. Take time to learn about their lives, families, hobbies, and aspirations. This shows you value them beyond their job titles. A simple way to start? Engage in meaningful conversations. On a Monday morning, don’t just ask, “How was your weekend?” and move on. Listen actively and ask follow-up questions. For example, if a team member mentions trying a new restaurant, ask what they ordered or how they liked it. These small moments signal that you see and appreciate them as people. Over time, these interactions build a foundation of trust, showing your team they’re valued and understood. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Whether you’re a leader or a team member, what’s one experience where trust was built well in your organization? Share in the comments below! 20/20 Foresight Executive Talent Solutions #Leadership #BuildingTrust

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

Leaders: create an environment where your team doesn't second guess themselves. Failure is okay. Difficult conversations need to happen. Worthwhile work is hard. But here's the thing: your team will fail to execute according to your standards when you've built a system around fear (whether intentional or not). And even worse, the standards they can achieve. Here's how I try (and fail at times) to build a culture of trust on the marketing team: Encourage Transparency: Make it safe for your team to share challenges, ask for help, and voice concerns. Have monthly or quarterly meetings with every team member, make it a safe space to share their concerns. Show Your Vulnerability: Lead by example, show your own vulnerability. Admit your mistakes, and model how to learn and move forward. Get Agreements: Fear often arises from uncertainty. Be clear about goals, priorities, and what success looks like. Share Before Ready: Encourage your team (and yourself) to share work-in-progress ideas, drafts, and projects. Waiting for "perfect" never works. Give Feedback With Empathy: Feedback should be constructive, not destructive. Focus on the behavior, not the person. Fear can stifle even the most hardworking and intelligent. It also blunts creativity, slows your team, and severely limits trust. It's your job to remove the barrier.