Collective Leadership Requires Trust

On trust, connection, and shared responsibility.

What actually builds trust? As I sat to write this, I pondered on the idea that most of us know the feeling of trusting someone… but describing it succinctly is another thing altogether (even though there are plenty of dictionary definitions).

Trust, to me, is an inner knowing - not in the head, but of the heart.

I trust that person. I might respect the position of another but not trust them. And then there’s holding no trust at all in someone… even if you actually like them.

You know that one: great to have a drink with, wouldn’t trust them with a barge pole.

Can you ‘sort of’ trust someone? I guess that comes with learning to trust, which generally shows up when a person’s words match their actions.

I know you can sense trustworthiness even when you don’t know someone. There’s a resonance, a vibe. Usually, it’s a quiet steadiness… the way they look you in the eye, hold themselves, and don’t come in with intensity.

While I can be a bit slow at times to trust others (past experiences), I’ve found that people tend to trust me fairly quickly. I often have strangers share their secrets or things they feel they can unload. My role is usually to listen. Hold space.

As an aside, I tend to forget people’s stories unless I know them well. Some people can be a bit put out if we meet again, and I don’t recall what they told me. I’m mindful that what they shared was often deeply personal - and not something I was meant to carry. I just happened to be the ear they needed at that time.

I won’t delve into what happens when trust is broken. We know this one. And how long, if ever in some cases, it can take to repair.

High-trust teams are generally highly functional. And people love to work in them, right? For me, high-trust teams feel like you’ve got each other’s backs. Mistakes are seen as learning. Good ideas become great ideas. People pull their weight and aren’t scared to have a voice. You’re whānau.

They thrive on psychological safety, shared purpose, and honest dialogue.

I’ve worked in several low-trust organisations. I would say, as a generalisation, that local government is one, certainly at a governance level (the current nature of politics), and also, as personally experienced, at an operational level.

Part of it is public risk and perception (well… that might be an excuse). Part of it is the hierarchical system: you can’t make a decision without a manager's sign-off, who might need their manager's sign-off… and so it goes.

West weaves these threads.

As we move forward with rapid change into an unknown future, developing collective trust within teams is going to be imperative if we are to stay agile, awake, and on form.

And it will require talking about the hard stuff as much as the easy stuff. Actually, it’s the hard stuff that often matters most. Asking why five times. Getting down to the nitty-gritty. Because if we don’t lift all the lids, we run the risk of not addressing the important things that are quietly shaping everything underneath.

It also means being honest about team dynamics that quietly erode trust. Sometimes this shows up as undermining behaviour, side conversations, or a lack of accountability.

Wherever possible, this deserves to be named and worked through. But there are times when, despite best efforts, a dynamic continues to disrupt the whole. In those moments, protecting the integrity of the team is imperative.

High-trust, collaborative teams will be the gamechangers we need as we move forward - and they require care, courage, and clarity to sustain.

Some questions to consider:

• Where does trust feel strong in your world right now? And where does it feel fragile?
• What behaviours quietly build trust for you… and which ones slowly erode it?
• What might change if protecting trust became a shared responsibility, not an unspoken one?

West is all about weaving connections. And trust has to be a foundation stone in developing and growing those connections - if they’re going to survive.

Further insights:

Download my free guide: 10 Ways to be Authentically You (even on a Tuesday).
Check out 'A New Compass: Finding your Inner North' - a short guided series.

#anewcompass #leadinglights