Finding ways to build trust in the workplace is more important than ever, but many leaders don’t know how to build it with their teams. Forbes reported a disconnect between executives' and employees' understanding of trust in the workplace. 86% of executives reported a high level of trust in employees, but only 60% of employees reported feeling trusted by their employers.
Correcting that disconnect has to come from the top. “As a leader, you are always on stage,” said Rachel Wolfe, Partner and Chief Integration Officer at The Miracle Manager. “What you tolerate, reinforce, or avoid communicates your values far more clearly than what you say.”
Here's how leaders can build trust in the workplace.
Trust is important in the workplace because it creates a foundation of safety for workers. It improves retention, increases engagement and productivity, and creates a company culture that supports and sustains employees and leaders.
When it comes to building trust, leaders need to actively focus on their own development. Like all company values, trust needs to come from the top down.
“Many leaders believe trust is built through intention, positivity, or staying ‘connected’, but in reality, trust is built through consistency: clear expectations, follow-through, and the willingness to take responsibility when things don’t go as planned,” Wolfe shared.
Leaders can create that consistency through follow-through and expectation setting. Leaders commonly have more direct behavioral styles, focusing on the big picture, quick communication, and getting results. This approach can alienate your team and direct reports with slower, more intentional behavioral styles.
“One of the most common trust breakdowns I see comes from well-meaning leaders who rely on informal check-ins instead of clarity,” explained Wolfe. “The ‘You good?’ conversation can feel supportive, but without structure, it often masks confusion, disengagement, or misalignment. When expectations are implied rather than stated, leaders may feel reassured while team members quietly struggle or disengage.”
Be overly clear in your expectations and directions! Utilize company-wide briefs, document your vision, and follow up with intention. Take time to listen to employees’ pain points and put your energy towards solving them. Demonstrate care through intentionality, and trust will follow.
Another great way to build meaningful trust in your organization is to ask for feedback and then actively implement the suggestions you receive.
“Trust erodes not because leaders don’t care, but because systems don’t support honest ownership,” said Wolfe. “Structure doesn’t limit trust—it enables it. Clear expectations and ownership give people the confidence to take responsibility and the safety to ask for help.”
It can take a while to open up real communication, so in the meantime, facilitate feedback through tools like an eNPS (employee net promoter score) survey, to “help you get a baseline understanding of where exactly your employees are at when it comes to reacting to culture and their own engagement.”
You can also implement skip-level meetings, which encourage entry-level team members to connect with executives by removing the buffer of their managers. These conversations can be more informal, coffee chat-style conversations where you get to know each other, or they can take a mentoring approach where you share general industry knowledge and answer questions.
Getting directly involved in your team’s day-to-day work and demonstrating your willingness to adjust based on their feedback will go a long way toward building trust.
Leaders can also create trust in their teams by investing in their development. When executives demonstrate that they care about the advancement of their teams and dedicate resources to that, it demonstrates that the leaders value and support their workers beyond their value to the organization.
That translates to the kind of trust that builds retention: 94% of employees stay longer in companies that invest in their professional development, according to LinkedIn’s Developing Employees and Improving Performance Report.
Development can come in many forms: mentorship programs, personalized coaching using assessment tools, and upskilling intiatives. Once you’ve established open lines of communication as a leader, you can directly ask your employees what kind of development would benefit them the most. Specialized employee development improves communication, engages employees, and builds trust across all levels of the organization, all while building a positive company culture.
Now that you know how leaders can build trust on their teams, you can go forward with confidence as you create meaningful relationships in the workplace. By demonstrating company values, asking and implementing employee feedback, and investing in your team, you can create trust that lasts.
“Personal accountability is the foundation of trust, both with others and within yourself.” said Wolfe. “When leaders own outcomes with clarity and courage, they create cultures where integrity scales and results follow.”
Want to use assessment tools to build trust in the workplace? TTI is here to help.