Editorial
A guarded employee may not be that way because of anything you’ve done, but because of what they’ve endured in the past. Micromanagement. Public shaming. Dismissed ideas. Ignored accommodations.
Those experiences don’t disappear when they accept your offer. They follow them into every meeting, one-on-one and project deadline.
For leaders, trust isn’t a given. It has to be earned — especially with team members who’ve been marginalized, underestimated or burned out in past roles. Studies show that trust is directly linked to engagement, performance and retention. A global survey from ADP Research Institute found that employees who strongly trust their leaders are 12 times more likely to be fully engaged.
Trust Comes Down to Relational Consistency
Building trust isn’t about charisma or title. It’s about relational consistency. About whether your employees believe you’ll listen, support and follow through. And whether you’ll do it again tomorrow.
Would you trust a leader who said any of the following to you?
- “Get the ** out of my office!”
- “We don’t think you're management material.”
- “I don’t care what you do at home, just don’t bring it to work.”
- “You don’t look like an engineer.”
- “You’re so articulate — for someone your age.”
- “We’re just not sure our clients would be comfortable with that hairstyle.”
- “Can you not be so emotional in meetings? It’s not a good look.”
- “You should smile more — you seem cold.”
- “We can’t make exceptions for your schedule. Everyone here works late.”
- “You got the job because of the diversity push. Be grateful.”
- “You Millennials want too much too soon.”
- “That’s just how things have always been done around here.”
These remarks aren’t hypothetical. They show up in exit interviews, coaching sessions and late-night conversations with loved ones. Experiences like these leave lasting marks, influencing how employees approach every new manager, meeting or feedback session. Distrust becomes a survival strategy.
Toxic leadership actively undermines performance, stifles innovation and drives talent out the door. The most effective teams operate in high-trust environments, where inclusion isn’t aspirational, but foundational.
How Are You Earning Your Team’s Trust?
You earn trust by being trustworthy. It’s a simple concept, but not always easy to put into action, especially if you're navigating generational, cultural or experiential differences within your team.
Sometimes managers worry about saying the wrong thing or unintentionally offending someone. But when you approach conversations with humility, openness and respect, you create space for connection — even when mistakes happen.
Humility can be a powerful way to break down barriers between people, said Greg Morley, a global HR and inclusion leader and author of "Bond: Belonging and the Keys to Inclusion and Connection." During his time with Disney in Hong Kong, Morley participated in an event called the Gay Games. In his first meeting with the company’s gender inclusion advisory committee, he began by asking for understanding and forgiveness if he misgendered or misrepresented any of them.
After the meeting, several attendees approached him. "They told me that the way I started the meeting took a lot of the negative emotion out of the room," he said. "They were ready to come at us. By having that humility and authenticity, it allowed me to do the wrong thing. It allowed me to say the wrong thing. Because I came at it from a perspective of good intentions, I was able to learn more that way."
People are often guarded and defensive because they've had to be in the past. But when leaders show vulnerability, curiosity and a willingness to learn, they can start building real trust.
5 Habits to Build Trust and Psychological Safety
Creating a high-trust team doesn’t happen overnight — but it does happen through intentional leadership. Here are five habits every inclusive leader should practice:
- Communicate early and often. Don’t wait for performance reviews to check in. Consistent, sincere communication builds safety and connection.
- Invite input. Asking “What do you think?” shows that you value your employee’s insights, and makes them more likely to speak up with ideas or concerns in the future.
- Give praise with purpose. Recognition builds goodwill. When it’s time to give feedback, employees will know it’s rooted in a desire to help them succeed.
- Support without assumptions. If someone struggles with organization or deadlines, don’t wait for a formal disclosure. Ask how you can support their workflow. A neurodivergent employee might never use that word — but they’ll remember how you showed up.
- Be consistent and transparent. Say what you mean. Follow through. Don’t play favorites. Reliability is one of the most underrated leadership traits, and one of the most powerful.
Rebuilding Trust Takes Consistent Effort
The most effective leaders recognize that strong relationships fuel strong results. But those relationships require repair, not just rapport. If an employee seems hesitant to open up, speak freely or take risks, it may be because they’ve learned the cost of trusting the wrong person. You get to be the one who shows them that your workplace is different.
Consistency builds credibility. Compassion builds commitment. And trust, once earned, activates the kind of discretionary effort that can’t be mandated or measured.
When people feel psychologically safe, they stop holding back. They speak up, take ownership and look forward to coming to work. Leaders who build trusted connections create high-performing teams and workplaces where people want to stay.
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Editor's Note: Read more about the role of trust in creating:
- Trust Is the Antidote to Organizational Disorder. Here's How to Build It — The real challenge for leaders is developing and maintaining the right trust-building behaviors.
- Stay Sharp With Soft Skills: Master Communication, Trust and Inclusive Leadership — Career-focused learning has to include more than mastering new software or exploring time-saving tools.
- Employee Retention Remains a Concern. People Analytics Can Help — Companies spend a lot of time, money and resources to hire the best and brightest talent they can find. People analytics can help you retain them.
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