Why Teams and Departments Don’t Trust Each Other – And What Leaders Can Actually Do About It

 

The Trust Gap That’s Silently Killing Your Performance

In many organizations, the greatest obstacles to performance are not external pressures or market shifts but the silent friction between teams. Departments that operate in silos, guard information, or question each other’s intentions create an environment where collaboration feels risky and progress slows to a crawl. Trust breaks down not because people do not care, but because unclear expectations, competing priorities, and past disappointments quietly shape how teams interact.

Understanding why trust erodes is only half the equation. Leaders must also know how to rebuild it in practical, repeatable ways that strengthen alignment rather than relying on shallow team-building tactics. When leaders address the underlying causes—miscommunication, structural barriers, and inconsistent accountability—they create conditions where teams can rely on one another, share ownership, and achieve results that no department could reach alone.

 

Here’s what you need to know about team trust:

• High-trust workplaces see 76% more employee engagement and 50% higher productivity than low-trust environments
• Trust is built through consistent actions: clear communication, transparent decision-making, and genuine appreciation
• The absence of trust is the root cause of most team dysfunctions, including fear of conflict and lack of commitment
• Leaders play the most critical role, but building trust is everyone’s responsibility
• Trust can be measured, developed, and repaired using proven frameworks and deliberate activities

Many seasoned leadership practitioners observe that most organizational performance issues are really trust issues in disguise. When teams don’t trust each other, collaboration falters. When departments operate in silos, strategic initiatives fail. When leaders say one thing but do another, even the most capable people disengage.

But here’s the good news: trust isn’t magic. It’s not built by chance or reserved for naturally charismatic leaders. Trust emerges from deliberate, consistent actions that any leader can learn and practice.

I’m Seth Yelorda, and over 15 years of senior leadership experience, I’ve helped executives and teams build the team trust that transforms organizational performance. Through Vision Clarity Consulting, I work with leaders who are ready to cut through the dysfunction and create measurable results through intentional trust-building strategies.

 

The Anatomy of Mistrust: Why Good Teams Break Down

You’ve seen it happen. A room full of talented people who should be unstoppable—yet somehow, the magic just isn’t there. Projects drag on longer than they should. Meetings feel tense or superficial. People work harder but accomplish less. Everyone’s busy, but no one’s really connecting.

The invisible culprit? A breakdown in team trust.

A widely used team-performance model shows that the absence of trust sits at the bottom of the pyramid—the foundation that everything else depends on. Without it, teams inevitably develop a fear of conflict, struggle with commitment, avoid accountability, and lose focus on collective results. You can’t build a skyscraper on quicksand, and you can’t build a high-performing team without trust.

 

The Foundational Role of Vulnerability-Based Team Trust

Here’s where it gets interesting. Not all trust is created equal.

Most of us think about what is often called predictive trust—the confidence that people will do what they say they’ll do. Sarah will finish the report by Friday. Marcus will show up to the meeting on time. This matters, absolutely. But it’s not enough.

The trust that transforms teams is vulnerability-based trust. This is when people feel safe enough to be human with each other. To say “I messed up” without fear of punishment. To admit “I don’t understand this” without feeling stupid. To ask “Can you help me?” without seeming weak.

Google spent years studying what makes teams effective, and they found that psychological safety—this ability to be vulnerable without negative consequences—was the single biggest predictor of team success. Not individual IQ. Not years of experience. Not technical skills. Psychological safety.

When people feel psychologically safe, they stop performing and start contributing. They share the half-formed ideas that turn into breakthroughs. They flag problems early instead of hiding them. They challenge assumptions instead of nodding along. This openness creates the conditions for genuine collaboration, shared learning, and the kind of innovation that only happens when people trust each other enough to be real.

 

How Inconsistent Communication Erodes Confidence

Nothing kills team trust faster than communication that feels inconsistent, unclear, or deliberately opaque.

When leaders make decisions behind closed doors without explaining the reasoning, people fill in the blanks with their own stories—usually negative ones. When expectations shift without warning or remain frustratingly vague, confusion turns into frustration, and frustration turns into disengagement. When information gets hoarded by individuals or departments, silos form and collaboration dies.

Then there’s the problem of mixed messages. A leader says one thing in a meeting, then acts differently later. Or worse, different leaders send contradictory signals about priorities, values, or expectations. People stop believing what they hear because they’ve learned that words and actions don’t match.

For remote and hybrid teams, these communication challenges multiply. Without the casual hallway conversations and the ability to read body language, trust becomes harder to build and easier to lose. Virtual teams that focus only on tasks without intentionally building connection struggle. They need more frequent updates, more transparent documentation, and more deliberate check-ins to create the shared understanding that used to happen naturally around the office.

These aren’t just minor annoyances that slow things down. Inconsistent communication actively dismantles the confidence and psychological safety that teams need to thrive. Every unclear message, every withheld explanation, every contradiction between words and actions chips away at the foundation—making it harder for people to trust each other and nearly impossible for them to do their best work together.

 

The Leader’s Playbook for Building High-Performing Team Trust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the truth: team trust doesn’t build itself. It requires intentional leadership and proactive strategies that create real, measurable results. And when leaders get this right, the impact is undeniable—high-trust workplaces see 76% more employee engagement and 50% higher productivity than their low-trust counterparts.

This isn’t about being everyone’s best friend or lowering standards. It’s about creating an environment where people can do their best work because they trust their leader, trust each other, and feel trusted in return.

Strategy 1: Model Radical Transparency and Consistency

Your team is watching you. Every decision you make, every conversation you have, every promise you keep or break—it all adds up to their perception of whether you’re trustworthy.

Be honest and transparent about what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re thinking. When change is happening, people crave information. Sharing openly builds respect and loyalty, even when the news isn’t perfect. But here’s an important nuance: don’t pretend to be open to input when a decision is already made. That backfires fast. Instead, be transparent about the process. Explain that this particular decision is non-negotiable and share why.

Practice consistency in everything you do. When your team can predict that you’ll respond fairly, follow through on commitments, and treat situations similarly, they develop predictive trust. They know what to expect from you, and that reliability becomes the bedrock of your relationship.

Share your reasoning behind decisions. When people understand the “why,” they feel included in the process even if they don’t fully agree with the outcome. This transparency helps them see you’re making thoughtful choices, not arbitrary ones.

Admit what you don’t know. This takes courage, but it’s one of the most powerful trust-building moves you can make. When you say “I don’t know,” you demonstrate humility and vulnerability. You also give your team permission to do the same, which strengthens psychological safety across the board.

Follow through on promises—every single time. If circumstances change and you can’t deliver on something you committed to, communicate that immediately and explain what happened. Your team can handle changed plans. What they can’t handle is being left in the dark.

 

Strategy 2: Accept a Coaching and Empowerment Mindset

Great leaders don’t just manage tasks—they coach people. This shift in approach fundamentally changes how your team experiences your leadership and dramatically increases their engagement.

The difference between coaching and managing comes down to questions versus directives. Instead of telling someone exactly how to solve a problem, ask thoughtful questions that guide them to their own solutions. “What approaches have you considered?” “What would success look like?” “What’s your biggest concern about this?” This develops their problem-solving abilities and creates genuine ownership. Research shows that employees with coaching-style managers are eight times more likely to feel highly engaged.

Empowering autonomy means giving your team members space to lead, speak up, and shape decisions. Micromanagement sends a clear message: “I don’t trust you.” Empowerment sends the opposite message. When you delegate important work—not just tasks, but real responsibility and authority—you show confidence in their judgment and abilities.

Support their growth by providing opportunities for learning and development. When you invest in someone’s professional aspirations and help them acquire new skills, you’re demonstrating long-term commitment to their success. That builds loyalty and deepens team trust in ways that salary alone never could.

 

Strategy 3: Actively Listen and Show Appreciation

Sometimes the most powerful trust-building actions are also the simplest. Two behaviors stand out above the rest: truly listening and consistently showing appreciation.

Listen more than you speak. When someone on your team is talking to you, put away distractions. Make eye contact. Let them finish their thoughts before you jump in with your response. This makes people feel heard, valued, and respected—three feelings that are essential to trust.

Seek and act on feedback regularly. Ask your team not just about their work, but about your leadership and the team’s dynamics. Then—and this is crucial—actually do something with that feedback. Share back what you learned and how you’re addressing it. This closes the loop and shows that their input genuinely matters.

Show daily appreciation through simple, specific recognition. A quick “thank you” delivered with authenticity goes a long way. Make it a habit, whether through a brief note, a public shoutout, or a personal conversation. The key is to be specific rather than generic. Instead of “Good job,” try “The way you organized the data in that report made it easy for the team to make a decision quickly. That was a game-changer!”

Make it personal by tailoring your appreciation to the individual. Some people love public recognition; others prefer a quiet one-on-one thank you. Tie it to impact by explaining how their contribution positively affected the team, project, or company. Be timely—appreciate efforts as close to the event as possible. And encourage peer-to-peer recognition by creating channels for team members to recognize each other’s contributions.

Your non-verbal communication matters too. Be present in conversations. Show empathy. Use patience and curiosity. These soft skills significantly impact how trustworthy you appear, even when you’re not saying a word.

When you practice empathy—truly trying to understand your team members’ perspectives and challenges—you build emotional connection. Acknowledging their struggles and showing genuine care creates bonds that weather difficult seasons and tough decisions.

 

Actionable Frameworks and Exercises to Build and Repair Trust

Generic advice like “act with integrity” can be hard to action. We need practical tools and deliberate activities to build and repair team trust. Trust is built in very small moments, requiring constant attention.

Actionable Frameworks to Diagnose and Build Team Trust

When we want to understand and build trust, frameworks can provide a clear roadmap.

• The Trust Equation: The Trust Equation is a powerful diagnostic tool. It posits that trust is based on four variables:
  • Credibility: How believable are you? (Based on words, expertise, and track record.)
  • Reliability: How consistently do you deliver? (Based on actions, follow-through, and dependability.)
  • Intimacy: How safe do people feel sharing with you? (Based on emotional connection, confidentiality, and empathy.)
  • Self-Orientation: Is your focus primarily on yourself or on others? (The lower the self-orientation, the higher the trust.)

  The equation is: Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation.
  This equation helps us identify precisely where trust might be lacking. For instance, if a team member is highly credible and reliable but lacks intimacy (perhaps they’re reserved), trust might be lower than desired. Conversely, high self-orientation can quickly tank trust, regardless of the other factors.

  Here’s a comparison of low vs. high self-orientation behaviors:

  Low Self-Orientation (High Trust)	High Self-Orientation (Low Trust)
  Listens actively, seeks to understand	Dominates conversations, interrupts
  Prioritizes team goals and success	Focuses on personal achievements and credit
  Shares knowledge and resources freely	Hoards information, creates dependencies
  Offers help and support proactively	Waits to be asked, or offers conditionally
  Admits mistakes and learns from them	Blames others, avoids accountability
  Shows genuine care for colleagues	Appears indifferent or self-serving

• The Johari Window: This tool helps individuals understand their relationship with others. It consists of four quadrants:
  • Open Area: Known to self and others.
  • Blind Area: Unknown to self, known to others.
  • Hidden Area: Known to self, unknown to others.
  • Unknown Area: Unknown to self and others.
    By actively seeking feedback (reducing the Blind Area) and thoughtfully self-disclosing (reducing the Hidden Area), team members can expand their Open Area, leading to greater mutual understanding and, consequently, stronger team trust.

Exercises for Fostering Personal Connection and Vulnerability

To build intimacy and psychological safety, we need activities that encourage sharing and mutual understanding.

• Personal Histories exercise: Ask team members to share key personal details, such as where they grew up, their number of siblings, and a unique challenge from their childhood. This helps people see each other as more than just colleagues and builds empathy. A great example of this is the Personal Histories exercise.
• Defining Moments: Invite team members to share three significant defining moments from their lives, explaining how these experiences shaped them. This can reveal values, resilience, and personal drivers.
• Team Lifelines: Each person draws a “lifeline” representing the highs and lows of their personal and professional journey. Sharing these stories can create deep understanding and appreciation for each other’s experiences.
• Regular check-ins: Start meetings with a quick check-in question that goes beyond work, such as “What’s one personal joy and one challenge you’re currently experiencing?” or “What’s something you’re grateful for today?” This fosters empathy and human connection.
• No-phone meetings: Smartphones have become one of the strongest distraction magnets in modern work. Asking people to put away all devices during meetings sends a powerful signal that their full presence and attention matter. When individuals are truly engaged with one another, it becomes easier to build empathy, reduce misunderstandings, and strengthen trust across the team.

Frequently Asked Questions about Building Trust in Teams

Let’s address some of the most common questions I hear from leaders struggling with team trust issues. These are real concerns that keep executives up at night, and they deserve honest, practical answers.

 

What does a lack of trust look like in the workplace?

You know that feeling when something’s just off in your team, but you can’t quite put your finger on it? That’s often what low trust looks like—it’s subtle at first, then suddenly everywhere.

Poor communication is usually the first red flag. People stop sharing ideas in meetings. They send carefully worded emails instead of picking up the phone. Critical information gets stuck in silos because no one wants to be the bearer of bad news.

Then there’s micromanagement—that telltale sign that leaders don’t believe their team can handle things independently. When you’re constantly checking in, asking for updates, and second-guessing decisions, you’re broadcasting your lack of confidence louder than any words could.

Disengagement follows closely behind. People show up, do the bare minimum, and leave. The spark is gone. They’re not invested in outcomes because they don’t feel the organization is invested in them. Meanwhile, hoarding information becomes a power play—knowledge is currency in low-trust environments, so people hold onto it tightly.

Perhaps most damaging is the avoidance of accountability. When trust is absent, admitting mistakes feels dangerous. Team members point fingers, make excuses, or simply stay silent when things go wrong. No one wants to be vulnerable because vulnerability has been punished before.

And finally, high turnover tells the story that exit interviews often don’t. Your best people leave quietly, seeking workplaces where they feel valued and trusted. The cost isn’t just in recruitment—it’s in lost institutional knowledge and team morale.

 

How do you fix broken trust between team members?

I won’t sugarcoat this: fixing broken trust is hard work. It’s uncomfortable, time-consuming, and requires genuine commitment from everyone involved. But it’s absolutely possible, and the payoff is worth every difficult conversation.

Start by acknowledging the problem openly. Pretending everything’s fine when it clearly isn’t just makes things worse. Someone needs to say, “We have a trust issue here, and we need to address it.”

Next, encourage honest conversation in a safe environment. This might mean bringing in a neutral facilitator or setting clear ground rules for respectful dialogue. Let people express how they feel without interruption or judgment. Sometimes just being heard is half the battle.

The person who broke trust must own their mistakes completely. No excuses, no justifications—just a genuine acknowledgment of what happened and the impact it had. This takes courage, but it’s non-negotiable. A sincere apology that demonstrates real remorse and commitment to change matters more than most people realize.

Then comes the long part: rebuilding with small, consistent actions. Trust isn’t restored with grand gestures—it’s rebuilt through daily reliability. Follow through on every commitment, no matter how small. Show up when you say you will. Do what you promise. Consistency over time is what rebuilds team trust.

For the person whose trust was broken, letting go of past hurts is equally important. This doesn’t mean forgetting what happened or pretending it didn’t matter. It means choosing not to hold it over the other person’s head indefinitely. Forgiveness creates space for the relationship to heal.

Be patient with this process. Trust that took years to build and moments to destroy won’t be repaired overnight. But with sustained effort, it can actually emerge stronger than before.

 

Who is responsible for building trust in a team?

Here’s the truth: everyone is responsible, but it’s not an equal distribution.

Leadership sets the tone for everything. As a leader, you create the environment where trust either flourishes or withers. Your behavior signals what’s acceptable, what’s valued, and what’s expected. When you model transparency, vulnerability, and consistency, you give your team permission to do the same. When you micromanage, withhold information, or say one thing and do another, you create a culture of suspicion.

But every team member plays a part too. You can’t build team trust alone from the top down. Each person contributes through their daily choices—being reliable, speaking honestly, admitting mistakes, and focusing on collective success rather than personal gain. When team members support each other, share credit, and hold themselves accountable, they strengthen the trust foundation.

Think of it this way: it’s a shared responsibility that starts with leadership. Leaders create the conditions and model the behaviors, but trust is ultimately built through consistent, genuine actions from everyone. It’s developed in small moments—the way you respond when someone admits an error, how you share information, whether you follow through on your commitments.

We’re all in this together, and the healthier the team’s trust, the better everyone performs. When leaders are honest, consistent, and empathetic, and when team members reciprocate those behaviors, trust becomes self-reinforcing. That’s when you move from a collection of individuals to a true high-performing team.

Partner with Seth! Lead with Clarity

Every great organization starts with a leader who can bring the future into focus—and invite others to see themselves as part of it. When your team recognizes their role in what’s ahead, they tap into meaning, motivation, and the drive to move forward together. Seth Yelorda specializes in helping leaders create that clarity and connection, turning vision into action and potential into results.

Each keynote is carefully tailored to your organization’s unique challenges and goals. With over 15 years of senior leadership experience, Seth delivers strategies that resonate immediately and build long-term impact. From team engagement to leadership development, his insights empower executives and employees alike to cut through the noise, focus on what matters most, and drive transformational results.

Don’t settle for a generic presentation—bring a speaker who will inspire your team to see the future, understand their role in it, and take action with purpose. Book Seth Yelorda today and give your organization the momentum it needs to achieve extraordinary results. Contact Seth now to secure your event.

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