“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” – Ernest Hemingway
It’s been a long time since my last blog post, but today, in Ottawa, I want to dive into a topic that has taken me over 12 years to fully grasp: trust—an essential element in any long-lasting relationship, whether personal or professional.
In this post, I want to share insights into how trust operates within teams, particularly in the workplace. Trust isn’t built overnight; it requires time and effort. However, once established, it becomes a hidden treasure, unlocking the potential for creativity, collaboration, and success within a team.
Note: These are just a few thoughts that might help guide you, especially if you’re feeling uncertain about your role or the environment you’re working in.
Let’s start with the foundation of any job: the interview process. In my experience, outside of major companies like FANG (or similarly large corporations), the seeds of trust are planted as early as the interview stage. You trust the company enough to commit your most valuable resource—your time—because you believe in its mission and future.
This trust fosters a sense of security, allowing you to take risks, be more creative, and engage deeply with your work. When you feel safe within your role and team, you’re likely to be more productive and innovative. There’s no shortage of articles that highlight the importance of building trust in teams and organizations—this is no coincidence. Trust is a key to unlocking the best in people.
But how exactly do you establish trust? Someone joins your team or works alongside you, maybe as a co-founder, and they trust you. But why? Perhaps you offered them something compelling enough to earn their trust, or maybe they convinced themselves you’re trustworthy based on external factors—like income or a fancy job title—without fully knowing you.
I personally don’t favor the latter. Trust that’s rooted in shallow factors, like a paycheck or an impressive title, can be short-lived. Sooner or later, people who rely on these external motivators realize they’ve made a mistake. Before they fully understand, they may leave, placing blind trust elsewhere, which eventually leads them down a path of disappointment.
Now, let’s focus on the first group—those who trust you because you’ve given them genuine reasons to. If you’re authentic and the things you value align with what you’ve communicated, this opens up great opportunities for both sides. This type of relationship fosters the highest levels of creativity and productivity, leading to success for the entire team. As mentioned at begining, this is the kind of trust that leads to great outcomes.
On the other hand, if you’re just playing a role or putting on a facade, even if you’re skilled at it, your business or team will inevitably suffer in the long run. You’ll lose valuable people, and nothing is more essential to a business than its people. The worst scenario occurs when someone exploits trust for personal gain. This doesn’t just harm the team or the business—it deeply impacts the individuals who placed their trust in you.
What worries me most isn’t the damage to the business or the team, but the effect on those who trusted you. When they realize they made a mistake by placing their trust in you, the sense of betrayal and neglect can be overwhelming. Often, they don’t dwell on how you deceived them; instead, they reflect on all the moments they dedicated themselves to the team’s success, only to realize the reward wasn’t what they expected. The reality hits them that they trusted someone who merely wore a mask, prioritizing personal gain over the well-being of the team.
To those people: this is not your fault. You did what any reasonable person would do—you gave your trust and did your best in an environment where you believed everyone shared the same goals. You were dedicated to the team’s success, and that effort is something to be proud of, regardless of the outcome.
Unfortunately, this story is one I’ve experienced firsthand. After more than 10 years of hard work, dedication, and passion, I realized that I had placed my trust in the wrong entity. In long business relationships, friendships often develop as well, and that made the situation even harder to digest. At first, it was difficult for me to accept, but once I did, moving forward and making tough decisions became easier.
This experience taught me to think more broadly in similar situations and to prioritize myself and my family above everything else. Even in environments that seem trustworthy, it’s important to remember that you should always be your top priority. If someone or something isn’t respecting that, it’s a clear sign that it’s not the right place for you.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, trust is the foundation of any successful team or business. It’s what allows people to take risks, to be creative, and to fully invest themselves in the shared goals of the team. While building trust takes time, the reward is a team that’s not only productive but also resilient and capable of weathering challenges together.
If you’re leading a team or starting a business, remember that trust isn’t just something to ask for—it’s something to actively cultivate through transparency, empathy, and consistency. And if you’ve ever been in a position where your trust was misplaced, don’t let it discourage you from trusting again. Instead, use that experience as a lesson in recognizing the signs of authenticity, and remember that real trust leads to growth, both for you and those around you.