Summary:
Trust in leadership is at a lower baseline than it ever has been. But when trust erodes, the consequences can hit organizations hard, from increased turnover to declining performance. Leaders can strengthen and begin to repair trust through seven key behaviors, including listening with empathy, supporting employee growth, being transparent about decisions, acknowledging mistakes, prioritizing wellbeing, embracing change, and recognizing success.

I recently coached a leader who had built his reputation on two things: delivering results and genuinely caring about his people. For most of his career, those two had gone hand in hand. Then the business changed.

When his company shifted its product strategy and went through multiple acquisitions, his team nearly doubled in size. Priorities moved faster, expectations increased, and suddenly, he was spending most of his time trying to hold everything together.

From his perspective, he was doing what the situation required. Moving fast. Making decisions. Keeping things afloat. What he didn’t realize until later was how his team was experiencing him. Over time, small shifts started to add up:

• He canceled several one-on-ones, telling himself it was temporary and he’d get back to a more regular cadence when things settled down.
• He stopped explaining the background and “why” behind decisions, assuming people just needed clear direction to execute quickly.
• He communicated that certain work would sit outside the team, but when that changed, he moved forward without revisiting the rationale.

None of these decisions may have seemed like major breaches of trust at the time. But over time they created a pattern. Without context, his employees filled in the gaps themselves. Alignment, engagement, and trust began to erode. Within months, attrition started to climb.

These kinds of departures are closely tied to manager behavior and the level of trust they build with teams. That’s especially true in today’s environment where people are already navigating increased ambiguity, complexity, and change. Without intervention, small breaches in trust can compound over time, driving talent away, shaping culture in unintended ways, and ultimately impacting team and organizational performance.

A Crisis of Trust in the Workplace 

Whatever the business situation may be, trust is a cornerstone to executing strategy. But employees are increasingly skeptical of their leaders. According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast, trust in immediate managers plummeted 17 points between 2022 and 2024, from 46% to 29%. This signals a crisis of leadership trust that’s only getting worse.

This lack of trust in the workplace also connects to the persistently low leadership quality ratings we’ve seen over the past fifteen years.

These findings become even more concerning when set in the context of other research, including the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer. The report shows that globally, trust continues to stagnate or decline, causing 70% of people to demonstrate insular attitudes. In other words, they are less inclined to trust others with different viewpoints, backgrounds, or problem-solving approaches. There is a silver lining, though. The study also shows that employers are best positioned to facilitate trust and connection.

This presents business leaders with an opportunity to strengthen leadership trust and nurture the connections that progress and collaboration rely on. Weaving trust into workplace culture isn’t only important for employee retention and building talent, but also for driving innovation and success in the future. Employees need a foundation of trust to feel comfortable taking calculated risks and sharing constructive feedback.

Building leadership trust requires consistent, deliberate action. But there’s another ingredient that sets building trust apart: awareness. What breaks trust with one person may differ from what breaks trust with another. This is what makes building trust feel so difficult to navigate for many leaders. To strengthen this capability, leaders can start with seven actions. 

7 Leadership Behaviors That Build Trust

Leaders can begin to overcome this crisis and build a culture of trust by focusing on and practicing seven trust-building behaviors. There’s a “keystone” to each of them. DDI calls them the Key Principles, and trustworthy leaders use them in every interaction to meet their team’s needs.

They are:

• Maintain or enhance self-esteem.
• Listen and respond with empathy.
• Ask for help and encourage involvement.
• Share thoughts, feelings, and rationale (to build trust).
• Provide support without removing responsibility (to build ownership).

These Key Principles are strongly linked to trust levels, since they all require honesty and sincerity to work. Keeping this in mind, let’s now take a closer look at the seven trust-building behaviors.

1. Listen and respond with empathy. 

Think about a time you shared a concern with your manager and left the conversation wondering whether they had really heard you. Even when leaders are trying to help, moving too quickly to solve a problem or explain a decision can leave employees feeling unheard. As a leader, the key to demonstrating active listening and empathy is to check your understanding and respond in a way that shows the other person you heard them. You can do this by using the empathy formula to respond with an empathetic statement:

Empathy Formula: "It sounds like you’re __________(feeling) because/about ___________(fact)."

• Example 1: “It sounds like you’re disappointed (feeling), because the deadline has changed (fact).”
• Example 2: “I’m sensing that you’re excited (feeling) about the announcement (fact).”

Listening and responding with empathy is not only important in building trust, but in overall job performance as well.

2. Provide opportunities for team members’ growth and development.

We know there is a shortage of leaders, and one of the key responsibilities of a leader is to develop their team members and themselves. This requires that leaders find the time to regularly discuss an individual’s growth and development. When leaders do this, they build trust by showing they care about the individual being engaged and reaching their full potential. As a result, they won’t be updating their resume anytime soon!

3. Share thoughts and rationale for decisions.

This behavior is all about transparency. When a leader listens to you, responds with empathy, and then follows up with statements like, “I understand your concern about what this means for our team, and I share your concern. Let me tell you what went into making the decision,” they are sharing what’s on their mind as well as providing the rationale for why the decision was made. Pro tip: A combination of behaviors 1 and 3 is one of the most powerful ways for a leader to build trust.

4. Genuinely acknowledge your own failures.

One of the most common misconceptions about leadership is that trust comes from always having the right answer. In reality, employees are often more skeptical of leaders who appear overly polished or avoid admitting when they don't know something—especially during times of change and uncertainty.

The key to acknowledging your failures is carefully choosing how you respond when you make a mistake or don't have all the answers. Offering a genuine apology, admitting uncertainty when appropriate, and taking responsibility for your actions shows authenticity and humility. It also models a growth mindset by showing that continuous improvement applies to leaders, too.

Appropriate vulnerability doesn't diminish a leader's credibility. It strengthens it. When leaders are honest about challenges and invite others into solving them, they create the trust and psychological safety teams need to share ideas, take ownership, and grow.

5. Inquire and care about employee wellbeing.

Many leaders wonder how much they should ask about what's happening in an employee's life outside of work. But taking a moment to check in can completely change how you understand and address a situation.

For example, if an employee suddenly begins arriving late, it could be tempting to jump straight to correcting the behavior. Instead, asking what's going on may reveal important context, like a temporary challenge at home with childcare or transportation. That understanding allows the leader and employee to work toward a solution together.

Leaders who genuinely inquire about employee wellbeing build trust by showing they care about employees as people, not just performers. These conversations strengthen relationships, help leaders make more informed decisions, and create a more supportive team environment.

6. Encourage others to challenge old ways of doing things.

To lead change, leaders must also embrace change, because team members look to them as models for how to react. One of the most effective ways to encourage new ideas is to combine empathy with involvement. When employees resist change, it's often because they care about the outcome. By listening to their concerns and involving them in shaping solutions, leaders build trust, reduce resistance, and create greater commitment to change.

7.  Recognize the success of team members.

According to a Gallup Business Journal Survey, individuals who receive regular recognition and praise increase their individual productivity, are more likely to stay with their organization, receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers, and have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job. To build leadership trust, recognition must be specific and sincere. One of the best approaches to recognize success is using the STAR method for providing effective feedback.

Trust in Leadership Fuels Employee Growth

Leaders build trust through the everyday actions that help employees grow. DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast found that employees are significantly more likely to trust managers who invest in their development:

• Employees with managers who actively support their development are 11X more likely to trust their manager.
• Employees who receive feedback from their manager are 9X more likely to trust their manager.
• Employees with managers who are effective coaches are 9X more likely to trust their manager

These findings show that development and trust reinforce each other. When leaders provide meaningful feedback, coaching, and growth opportunities, employees build stronger trust in their leaders and become more willing to embrace the development they need to perform at their best and deliver measurable results.

Certain Triggers Can Undermine Leadership Trust

At the end of the day, leaders are human too. Environments can trigger them to do things they ordinarily would not. Consequently, they may end up breaking trust with their teams, their peers, or their manager. These triggers might be things like cultural pressure in the organization, perceived personal criticism, their own personality, and more.

Here are some examples of "trust traps” leaders can fall into:

• Breaking promises
• Serving their own interests
• Acting inconsistently
• Avoiding issues
• Making assumptions
• Doubting others

Discover how DDI's leadership development solutions help leaders build the skills they need to foster trust and transform their teams.

About the Author:
Brittney Calhoun is an Associate Consultant dedicated to creating meaningful development experiences and empowering leaders to build self-awareness. When she isn’t helping leaders grow, she’s chasing adventure—road-tripping, snowboarding, hiking, or trying something completely new—all while soundtracking it with a carefully curated playlist, of course.