Trust-Building Practices For New Teams

8 Critical Actions for New Leaders to Build Trust with Their Teams Stepping into a leadership role isn’t just about strategy and decision-making—it’s about building trust with your team. Without trust, even the best plans fall flat. Here are 8 critical actions every new leader should take to establish credibility and foster a strong team culture: 1️⃣ Listen More Than You Speak Early on, focus on understanding your team’s challenges, strengths, and concerns. Ask thoughtful questions, and truly listen before making changes. 2️⃣ Set Clear Expectations Ambiguity erodes trust. Be upfront about goals, roles, and how success is measured so your team knows where they stand. 3️⃣ Follow Through on Commitments Nothing builds trust faster than doing what you say you will do. If you commit to something—whether big or small—deliver on it. 4️⃣ Be Transparent (Even When It’s Tough) People appreciate honesty, even if the news isn’t great. Share what you can, explain decisions clearly, and don’t shy away from difficult conversations. 5️⃣ Give Credit, Take Responsibility Recognize your team’s contributions publicly and own up to mistakes when they happen. Great leaders uplift others rather than seek the spotlight. 6️⃣ Show Vulnerability & Authenticity You don’t have to have all the answers. Admitting when you don’t know something or when you’ve made a mistake fosters psychological safety. 7️⃣ Provide Regular Feedback (Not Just in Reviews) Employees crave feedback, and it shouldn’t only happen in annual reviews. Recognize wins in real-time and offer constructive guidance to help your team grow. 8️⃣ Invest in Their Development When leaders actively support career growth—through mentorship, training, or opportunities—teams feel valued and committed to the mission. 💬 What’s one action a leader took that made you trust them more? Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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]

What’s really possible in the first 30 days as a new leader? A lot. Leaders set the pace. Here’s what the first few weeks can look like… 1. Demonstrate you care. “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” That means spending a lot of time with your new team and intentionally creating vulnerability and trust. Let them know about you, show them they can be open and honest with you, and when they do, it will be received with curiosity, compassion and kindness. You can’t fake this, though. You’re either genuinely and authentically interested in getting to know people and appreciate them or you’re not. 2. Say “yes” to some things that leaders have been wanting to do to move the business. Your new team knows the business. They have a long list of things that they want to do that your predecessor stalled, avoided, or just didn’t respond. People lean toward “no” or inaction in organizations because of risk aversion and self-preservation. Have a bias toward action. Find some things to say “yes” to right away. Show folks you believe in being bold and taking action. 3. Identify and execute a tactical move from your own playbook that will add immediate value, create momentum, and get people hype. This sets the standard for how you want people to operate. Again, a bias toward action. It also helps to have you accepted into the tribe by proving you have value and can contribute by getting in the business. At Embrace, in my first month, we increased sales by 60% through that blueprint. Here’s how… 1. I met with my SLT daily via a morning stand-up where we spent just as much time getting to know each other as we did talking about the business. The group moved from a team of rivals to a team who started to see each other and me as human beings. We began the process of building trust, having healthy disagreements, and moving up in the levels of Tribal Leadership. 2. We said “yes” to an advertising deal that was sitting around for months without an answer. 3. We reprioritized inbound calls, changed how we followed up on unsold quotes, and added incentives for agents. This was in the first two weeks and it set a standard for how we operated for the next ~6 years across every function of our business - trust, bias toward action, and interative progress.