How to Build Trust in the Workplace
- Brainz Magazine
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Written by Stephen Cole, Lead Coach and Founder
Stephen Cole is the founder of TeamWeave, supporting teams to build trust, connection and performance through the simple, human-centred practice of team check-ins. His work draws on over two decades of leadership and facilitation experience, with a practical focus on developing human skills and culture as it is lived in everyday work.
Trust is often framed in terms of integrity. However, integrity alone does not create trust. Trust is also shaped by relationships and the culture people experience day to day. When work becomes overly transactional and leaves little room for humanity, trust is weaker. For teams willing to allow openness and some vulnerability at work, a simple, regular team practice focused on people rather than tasks can help trust grow.
What we already know, integrity and trustworthiness
Trust in the workplace begins with integrity and trustworthiness. People need to know that others will do what they say they will do, act ethically, and behave consistently over time. This is particularly important in leadership. Without this foundation, trust cannot develop, no matter what other practices are put in place.
Most organisations already recognise this. Values statements, codes of conduct, and leadership expectations commonly emphasise honesty, reliability, and accountability. Many leaders work hard to hold themselves to these standards.
And yet, integrity alone is not enough to build trust. Many leaders have experienced situations where they have acted with integrity, worked hard to be trustworthy, and still found trust within the team to be low. This can be exhausting, requiring significant effort while still resulting in low engagement, strained relationships, reduced performance, and a lack of fulfilment.
If this resonates, it raises an important question. What else might have been missing? And conversely, when trust has been strong, is it possible that the next two elements explored in this article, moving beyond transactional relationships and allowing humanity, were already present?
Move beyond transactional
Transactions are an essential part of working life. People agree to work for a certain amount of time in exchange for pay, and there are clear expectations about roles, responsibilities, and outcomes. This is not inherently wrong. Work does need to get done, and clear agreements matter.
When I ran my own engineering company, if pay was ever a day late, people quite reasonably asked, “Where is it?” That clarity and fairness is part of a healthy working arrangement.
The challenge is when transactional thinking becomes the dominant way people relate to one another. When this happens, trust is limited. Conversations narrow to the minimum of what is required, people become more cautious about what they share, and tensions may go unspoken, yet still shape how people relate and work together.
This can create distance between colleagues, even when relationships remain polite and professional. People focus more on managing impressions than on what is actually happening and how to work together effectively.
Allow humanity
Trust grows in relational spaces rather than transactional ones. It develops when people experience one another as human beings, not just as roles or job titles. This does not mean lowering standards or losing focus. It means recognising that trust is built not only through what people deliver, but through the quality of connection that surrounds the work.
When humanity is allowed at work, people no longer have to leave important parts of themselves at the door. Small acknowledgements, of stress, uncertainty, enthusiasm, or challenge, help teams build connection and develop ‘human skills’.
Allowing humanity also changes how mistakes and difficulties are handled. Instead of blame, withdrawal, or defensiveness, teams are more likely to respond with curiosity and support. Over time, this creates psychological safety, where people feel able to speak up, ask for help, and raise concerns early.
These are signs of trust in action. Trust does not grow because people are perfect. It grows because people can rely on one another to act with integrity, feel safe to name when integrity has fallen short, and stay connected while addressing it.
This capacity to stay connected under pressure is one of the clearest expressions of trust.
These themes are also reflected in other Brainz articles exploring the role of humanity and safety in workplace culture, including Culture Is What Happens When You’re Not in the Room and Safety – The Foundation of Every High-Performing Workplace
Leadership and trust
Leadership plays a significant role in how trust is experienced within a team. This is not because leaders control trust, but because people pay close attention to what leaders make safe or unsafe through how they show up. How leaders listen, respond to uncertainty, and participate in everyday interactions strongly influences how open, honest, and connected others feel able to be.
I saw this clearly when I was leading my own engineering consultancy. Whenever I felt guarded and chose to share less of myself, there was a noticeable flow on effect in the team. People tended to follow my lead. Conversations became more cautious, and tensions were more likely to build without being addressed.
This pattern was interrupted when someone, myself or another team member, showed their humanity by being open or appropriately vulnerable. When that happened, connection and trust returned. Where the team had enough shared experience of openness not being used against people, it became easier for people to step forward and contribute, even when tensions arose.
When leaders are open, present, and willing to allow some humanity to be visible, it creates permission for others to do the same. This not only supports trust, but also creates space for leadership to be shared more naturally. People are more likely to step in, speak up, and take responsibility when they see a benefit for the team to do so, rather than be constrained by hierarchy or a sense that it is “not their place”.
How to make it happen
An effective way to build trust in a team, grounded in integrity and humanity, is through regular team check ins. Team check ins are a simple, structured practice where people share how they are and what’s happening for them. They are about people, not tasks or project updates, unless work is personally affecting someone.
Done well, regular check ins help teams develop the culture and human skills that trust depends on, listening, speaking authentically, collaboration, empathy, and leadership. For most teams, around 30 minutes a week is enough. Over time, these qualities can flow into everyday work, shaping how people communicate, collaborate, and respond to tension.
Check ins require a willingness to be open. This does not mean sharing everything, but opening up enough to build connection and trust while staying within appropriate and safe boundaries.
They are best suited to teams, particularly leaders, who are ready for this level of openness. Where trust is very low, or people feel unable to speak honestly, additional support such as professional facilitation or conflict resolution may be needed first. However, where leaders are unwilling to be open in this way, it can be best not to do check ins at all.
When I led an engineering consultancy where weekly check ins were part of how we worked, there was often a quiet, contented hum in the office. People collaborated easily, focused well, and tensions were less likely to go unresolved, which was particularly noticeable in the hours following a team check in.
At TeamWeave, we support teams to make regular check ins part of their work, building trust and the benefits that flow from it. To help teams get started and make this practice more accessible, we offer a free Guide to Team Check-ins.
Read more from Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole, Lead Coach and Founder
Stephen Cole is the founder of TeamWeave, where he supports teams to build trust, connection and performance through simple, human-centred ways of working. With a background in engineering and more than two decades of leadership and facilitation experience, he brings a grounded, practical approach to workplace culture and the development of human skills.
Teams working with Stephen begin with the simple, practical practice of regular team check-ins. Stephen has taken part in more than 600 check-ins and led over 180, witnessing first-hand how openness and humanity can transform how teams work together.
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