Building Team Trust

In a recent coaching call, one of my clients shared that he was feeling “inauthentic” as a leader. In the middle of company layoffs, he was asked to discuss with senior leadership which members of his team might be on the chopping block.

As you can imagine, he felt like he was violating the trust of his team and his peers — and he was most definitely losing sleep over it.

No one likes being in this position. It shakes your sense of integrity and can easily spiral into self-doubt and even self-loathing.

Together, we explored how he could maintain trust. Team trust in him as a leader and, often harder still, his own trust in himself to navigate the situation with integrity.

We considered the enablers and eroders of trust. He committed to transparency. To sharing as much information as he could, when he could, without ever lying or sugarcoating the situation with his team.

He let them know they should “hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” While he couldn’t control the organization’s choices, he could control how he showed up for them every day.

His team appreciated that he was honest, reality-based, and willing to carry some of the emotional load. Even in times of uncertainty, they could trust him. As a result, he slept a little better knowing he was back to leading authentically and with emotional regulation.

High-Trust Teams and C-IQ

Judith Glaser, in her work on Conversational Intelligence (C-IQ), reminds us that trust is built and broken, in every conversation. The quality of our culture is shaped by the quality of our relationships — which depend on the quality of conversations. In this way, conversations are fundamental.

High-trust teams don’t shy away from difficult conversations. They lean into them with transparency, empathy, and respect. Leaders on these teams normalize vulnerability and foster a culture of group psychological safety. Team members know they can speak up without fear of judgment or retaliation. This strengthens resilience and collaboration.

Develop trust with communication, collaboration, accountability, and resilience.

Performance Tips for High-Trust Teams

From a C-IQ perspective, there are four practical shifts you can make in your own team that will help improve trust and foster group psychological safety:

Normalize vulnerability in meetings

Share openly about challenges. Invite others to do the same. Vulnerability is not weakness. It builds connection.

Replace judgment with curiosity

Instead of jumping to judgment, try: “That’s a different perspective. Let’s explore it further. Tell more more.” This reframes the critique as an opportunity to learn.

Keep micro-commitments

Small promises matter. When you do what you say you’ll do — even in small ways — you reinforce reliability.

Celebrate small wins

Recognition isn’t just for big milestones. Celebrating small wins reinforces trust and builds momentum.

Trust is born from tribulation. It grows when people honor their commitments, allow room for vulnerability, and celebrate the small stuff. These kinds of small changes can have a lasting impact on your mental resilience.