What Trust Actually Looks Like
Trust isn’t built in strategy meetings. Or town halls. Or glossy vision decks. It’s built in smaller moments — the ones that rarely get noticed. When a manager says, “Take your time,” and actually means it. When someone admits a mistake and isn’t punished for it. When a junior team member speaks in a room full of seniors — and no one interrupts. You can’t launch a program for trust. You can’t enforce it through policy. And you definitely can’t fake it. In consulting, we’re often asked how to “build a culture of trust.” But the real work isn’t in design. It’s in attention. Trust grows in what people feel when no one’s watching. Do they feel safe to speak up? Do they believe they’ll be heard? Do they think the system will protect them — or expose them? And sometimes, trust doesn’t break loudly. It slips away quietly. In missed follow-ups. In promises made but never mentioned again. The truth is: You can’t create trust for others. You can only create the condit...