Every leader wants a loyal team that will walk through walls for them, don’t they?
But there are a lot of misperceptions around how to build that kind of trust.
⏱ It doesn’t have to take time.
🥰 It’s less about credibility and charisma than you think.
🤞🏻 And it’s definitely not just saying “you can trust me.”
So what is the critical ingredient?
👉🏻 Whether someone believes you genuinely care about them — their needs, their concerns.
Problem is, when you’re in survival mode — on the verge of burnout, say — your #1 priority is self-protection. Maybe not in a blatant “pushing others aside so you can save yourself” kind of way.
But you’re overly focused on what others think.
Making sure you’re not the one who’s blamed.
Taking things too personally.
Genuine caring about others is secondary.
It’s not your fault, that’s just how humans are wired.
And if you want to build trust — with your team, customers, co-founders, board — the first step is to get out of survival mode.
Then?
Your people will do what you need them to do without second-guessing.
They’ll feel safe to tell you the whole truth.
You’ll have better information and make better decisions.
And you’ll be able to move, as Stephen Covey says, at the speed of trust.
p.s. Getting out of survival mode is just the first shift leaders need to make in a volatile, uncertain world. If you want to find out the other four shifts, go watch my (free) online training here.