If you have ever looked at your leadership team and thought, “On paper, this should be working,” you are not alone.
The strategy is sound.
The people are capable.
The intent is genuinely good.
And yet, decisions feel slow. Conversations stay polite but surface-level. Ownership feels cautious rather than confident.
In my experience, this is rarely a capability issue.
It is almost always a trust issue.
Not the kind of trust we talk about vaguely or assume is there.
The kind that shows up, or does not, in daily behaviour.
Because trust is not a feeling.
It is a pattern.
Many leaders believe trust exists because they are well intentioned, transparent, or technically competent. But trust is not formed by intention. It is formed by experience.
People trust leaders when their behaviour is consistent. When words and actions align. When conversations feel safe, especially when they are uncomfortable.
Trust is created in small, repeatable moments:
Following through when it would be easy not to
Listening without defensiveness
Naming issues early rather than letting them fester
Staying present when pressure is high
These moments compound over time. And so do the costs when they are missing.
One of the simplest ways to understand trust is to see it as both a mirror and a map.
The mirror reflects the truth of our leadership. Not how we see ourselves, but how others experience us. It quietly shows whether people feel safe, whether commitments are honoured, and whether our leadership creates clarity or confusion.
The map shows the way forward. When trust is high, teams move with confidence. Decisions are faster. Accountability feels shared. People are willing to take thoughtful risks because they know they are supported.
When trust is low, the path fractures. Energy shifts into self-protection. Collaboration slows. Momentum stalls.
Trust helps us see where we are and guides where we are going, together.
Trust is often spoken about as something intangible. In reality, it is highly observable.
One practical lens I often use with leadership teams is Charles Green’s Trust Equation:
Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) ÷ Self-Orientation
In plain language, this invites leaders to reflect on the trust signals they send every day.
Credibility asks: Do people trust my expertise and judgement?
Reliability asks: Do I do what I say I will do?
Intimacy asks: Do people feel safe, respected, and seen in conversation?
Self-orientation asks: Am I leading in service of the team, or myself?
When teams explore these elements together, trust stops being a vague aspiration. It becomes a set of observable behaviours that people can name, practice, and hold each other to.
Trust is not just relational. It is neurological.
When trust is high, cortisol levels reduce and oxytocin increases. This shifts the brain out of threat and into connection. In this state, people think more clearly, collaborate more effectively, and make better decisions.
This is why research, including Google’s Project Aristotle, consistently shows psychological safety as the strongest predictor of high-performing teams. Psychological safety is not about comfort. It is about trust.
When trust is low, the opposite occurs. Stress responses increase. People become cautious, defensive, or withdrawn. Innovation drops. Engagement erodes. Performance suffers.
Trust directly affects how the brain functions at work.
Trust work is rarely loud or dramatic. It does not require grand gestures or motivational speeches.
It requires discipline.
Discipline to notice your impact.
Discipline to have the conversations you would rather avoid.
Discipline to model the behaviours you want to see repeated.
The most effective leaders I work with treat trust as an everyday practice, not a one-off initiative. They talk about it when things are going well, not only when something has gone wrong.
They understand that trust is built person to person. And that it can look different across different relationships.
If trust is both a mirror and a map, here is a question worth sitting with:
What might the mirror be showing you about your leadership right now?
And where is trust asking you to lead next?
The answers are often quieter than we expect. But they are always useful.
Strong years do not happen by accident. They are built on clarity, trust, and shared direction.
If you are beginning to think about what you want 2026 to feel like, not just deliver, this is the moment to be intentional.
Trust is not something to assume.
It is something to design, practice, and protect.
And when leaders get that right, everything else becomes possible.
