How organizations can tackle 'trust debt' among staff

"There is a trust and confidence debt that we need to address"

A senior leader said this a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since; it felt both refreshing and deeply resonant.

I've done a lot of thinking (over-thinking, really) and a little bit of public speaking on the topic of trust (you can see that here and here) and I see two things that organizations sometimes overlook when trying to build trust in their organization:

1 - Be trustworthy by delivering value early, often and consistently

Trust is not earned through a strategy document, roadmap or powerpoint. It's earned through the delivery of tangible things that makes it easier or better for many people in a real way, and by continuing to do so over time, no matter what.

Having a long-term strategy is important of course, but it mustn't get in the way of doing something right now, because it's the doing that matters to people. Plans and intentions won't pay the rent.

So, do something. it can be small and simple. Don't overcomplicate it. Don't drown it in approvals. And don't make people wait for big reveals, because every day of waiting allows a little more tension and mistrust to build.

"But what if we do the wrong thing?" you might be thinking, and I get it - the fear of getting it wrong can be paralyzing. But even failure can build trust if it's openly acknowledged and discussed, with genuine humility, curiosity and openness. The important thing is to learn from it, and take those learnings forward to what's next.

The only way to seem trustworthy is by doing something, visibly and often. The biggest mistake is to wait until it's perfect while looking like you're not doing anything.

2 - Give trust by default, and make that an explicit value of the organization

Trust goes both ways - organizations need to give some degree of trust in order to earn trust. Most people would prefer to feel like partners in decisions rather than passive recipients of them.

If you think the cost of trusting people is high, pay attention the cost of not trusting people. You might have to dig a bit though - those consequences are rarely measured

Giving trust by default does not mean anything goes. It's not about handing anyone the keys to the vault, that kind of irresponsible trust erodes confidence. It's about giving people a reasonable degree of agency and power: being clear about things like expectations, decision rights and guard rails, and then genuinely trusting people to work within them, until they show you otherwise.

Trusting by default requires normalizing daily habits that reinforce trust as a cultural norm. It means consistently showing trust in big and small ways, like:

• Giving people meaningful choices
• Placing more value on contribution than hierarchy
• Creating spaces for open, visible critique and multi-directional dialogue
• Resisting the urge to limit decisions, influence and voices to certain groups only

Remember: Mistrust is rarely a written rule. More often it's a behaviour that's accepted, legitimized and internalized over time. Notice that and question it.

The common thread

Trust isn't earned through bold transformation. It's earned through consistency and transparency that is sustained over time.

It happens in the small and mundane moments: daily rituals, persistent habits and relationships that go beyond transactional. It's everyday signals that show people they are supported, trusted and taken seriously. Those small things are the boring magic that makes all things possible.

As a dutch proverb says, "trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback"

What building trust can look like in practice

These are some things I've seen in the organizations I've worked for that have signalled to trust, at least to me

Building trust through consistently delivering value:

• Creating templates and reusable patterns that can simplify people's workflows while creating consistency
• Admin burden relief - remove an unnecessary processes or approval, provide operational support where needed
• Creating or procuring products or services that address a need - such as a scheduling tool or recruitment services for research participants)
• Weekly learning sessions on topics that people are asking about - such as intro sessions to agile, design etc
• Creating and resourcing professional networks (eg mentorship schemes, practice guilds)
• Regular events and blog posts that showcase work, provide transparency and open up feedback channels (eg Show the Thing)

Ideas for giving trust by default:

• Eliminate approval processes for low-risk things (like sharing non-confidential work between teams)
• Re-configure decision/governance/executive committees and working groups to include staff from multiple roles and levels
• Open permissions on all folders and files within the org that don't contain confidential or personal information (and take a very critical eye to what is actually truly confidential. 90% of stuff is likely totally safe to be shared with other employees; sharing restrictions are often cultural and not based in genuine classification rules)
• Make staff contributions the focus on all-staffs (and allow the people doing the work to speak rather than executives speaking on their behalf)
• Give people meaningful choices over things that affect them, wherever possible: for example, let them choose which laptop or software to use, how to structure their day, or which priority they'd like contribute to.
• Create spaces where staff can speak candidly and openly without fear of consequences
• Creating and sharing things that reinforce trust as a cultural trust norm - such as the It's ok to.... posters at GDS, which truly changed how people think about their workplace