4 Unexpected Trust-Building Behaviors of Extraordinary Culture

Think for a moment about one of the best work cultures you’ve been a part of. I bet I can predict what you experienced:

• You worked for a leader you admired and respected.
• You had co-workers who were also friends.
• You enjoyed the organization because you felt like the work you were doing had purpose and meaning.
• You were passionate about your role because you understood your responsibilities and what was expected of you.
• You were excited about the mission of the organization.

If I had to boil all of those things down to one word – I’d say that word is “trust.” You trusted your leader. You trusted your coworkers. You trusted the mission of the organization. You trusted what was expected of you.

Trust is the currency of relationships and therefore trust is the foundation for healthy teams. I know you believe that trust is key. You’re not likely to argue with the premise, but most of us find ourselves perplexed with what to do when trust is lacking. Trust falls and team bonding activities generally invoke eye rolls. We know it’s more than that.

We often think, “Maybe the team needs more time together,” or, “We need to focus on relationships and connection.” And while those things are a good start – after all, it’s difficult to build trust without relationships – organizational trust requires more than just relational connection.

As I’ve worked with hundreds of teams and analyzed cultures of all sizes, I’ve found that there are some relatively simple things we can do as leaders to build trust in our organization that will lead to a stronger and healthier culture.

The Relationship Between Clarity and Trust

Recently my friend Steve, a senior leader of an organization, reached out asking for my help with some challenges their team was facing. They had shifted some strategies that resulted in sizable changes throughout the organization and his team was feeling the tension…

What I quickly discovered were the typical culture-busting behaviors that plague many teams – confusion, chaos, suspicion, competition, mistrust. It was clear that without some course correction, the connection and camaraderie that used to be a hallmark of this team would be lost.

What caused a team to go from thriving to struggling seemingly overnight?

I identified that Steve’s team had lost two things: clarity and trust.

What I want to share with you today is how the first – lack of clarity – leads to the second – lack of trust. A simple lack of clarity inevitably erodes trust.

Whether you’re an executive leader or the leader of a small volunteer team, you have the power to provide the clarity that builds a solid foundation of trust. Below I’ve outlined the four most powerful trust-building behaviors you can apply to your team today.

1. CLARIFY YOUR PURPOSE.

Champion the “why” of your organization and be relentless in communicating your purpose.

What is your mission and how are you communicating it to your staff ? Are you reminding them every single day why you do what you do? It’s not enough to put the mission on your wall. Your job as the leader is to find a way to keep your team tethered to that mission at all times. Tell stories of impact. Put pictures of those you serve around the office, share success stories of how you’ve achieved your mission, and regularly remind them of why it matters.

Share the mission every way you can and in as many ways as you can… and then do it again. Share it until they mimic you. Share it until they’re repeating it for you. If you don’t believe it, why would they? The more confident you are in the mission, the more your team will trust the importance of your purpose.

Clarity of mission creates trust in the importance of the work.

2. CLARIFY YOUR STRUCTURE.

Structure your team to support your strategy.

Chief among the issues that create a lack of organizational clarity is a nonexistent or confusing organizational chart. Your organizational chart should make it very clear who does what and why. Every seat on the team is critical to achieving your mission. This should be the premise behind your organizational structure.

You need a structure that defines how every role helps you accomplish your mission. Is your structure designed to help you achieve your mission? Can team members look at the org structure to know who to go to for what? Does it help them understand how to work within the team? You build trust with your team when they understand how the organization is structured and where they fit in that equation. Everyone wants to know where they belong and how they fit.

A clear structure gives every person on your team confidence that their role matters and is a key part of achieving the mission. With this clarity your team members can trust that their role is mission-critical.

3. CLARIFY RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS.

In addition to helping each team member understand their role in the organization, we also need to be specific about each team member’s responsibilities and your expectations of them.

Your team wants to be a part of something important and they want to contribute in a meaningful way. When they understand the structure and the importance of every role, and then they know their specific responsibility and what is expected of them, they can more confidently contribute. With this clarity your team can trust that the work they do matters and they are not wasting time trying to guess what is expected of them. Additionally, this level of clarity for each role helps team members understand what to expect from one another. When each person on the team understands the role of their teammates, they can do good work together and build trust with each other in the process.

Trust begins to expand throughout the organization as each team member is confidently playing their part.

4. CLARIFY THE DIRECTION.

With an understanding of your purpose and clarity of structure, roles, and responsibilities, team members now need to understand where to direct their energy.

What are you aiming for? What does success look like? It’s hard to hit a target that is ill-defined. In fact, one of the biggest trust busters for team members is when they think they are doing what they are supposed to be doing and then get redirected. The clearer the target, the more team members can confidently do their job and trust that they’ll succeed in their efforts.

Clarity of vision gives your team a specific and measurable target to shoot for that is in support of your mission.

Clarity is a chief indicator of the health of your culture because you build trust when you provide clarity. These four simple trust-building behaviors create clarity that will unleash your team and significantly improve your culture. The more confident and comfortable your team is with the purpose, the structure, their responsibilities and expectations, and the vision, the more trusting they are to fully engage in your mission and produce their best work.

Are you building a healthy culture in your organization?

Author, speaker, and leadership expert Jenni Catron teaches leaders that if your culture is not healthy, your strategy is irrelevant – and in her culture-shaping guide, Culture Matters, she offers real stories of businesses and leaders who created and implemented a strong culture and who succeeded in leading well. This book provides the building blocks for success. It will help you, as a leader, assess your purpose, culture, and strategy in your organizations. Get your copy here and use its tools to assess your current culture, define the culture you aspire to, and build the plan to help you achieve it – and above all, create a healthy culture that builds and maintains momentum.

About the author

Jenni Catron is a leadership expert, author, and speaker dedicated to empowering leaders to cultivate healthy cultures and lead thriving organizations. As Founder and CEO of The 4Sight Group, she consults organizations on leadership, team culture and organizational health. Jenni is the author of several books including Culture Matters: A Framework for Helping Your Team Grow, Thrive and Be Unstoppable (February 2025).