Which Trust Camp Are You In?

WHAT IT IS

Trust is a fundamental requirement, but leaders deploy it differently. There are generally two "Trust Camps": the leader who trusts implicitly from day one and cuts you loose, and the leader who doles it out sparingly and verifies every step.

Neither is inherently wrong, but leaving your team in the dark about how you deploy trust leaves room for assumptions. Remember, when people don't know, they don't care, and tend to build false narratives based on negative assumptions.

Which Trust Camp Are You In?

🔍 LEADER LENS

• Identifying your natural trust style and proactively communicating the "why" behind your actions.
• Practicing "trust but verify"—giving your team autonomy, while clearly explaining why you might need to check certain critical, high-stakes tasks.

👤 IC LENS

• Understanding how the boss operates so you don't take it personally or feel micromanaged.
• Knowing exactly what it takes to build and maintain trust with your leader so you don't feel unsupported or abandoned to the wolves.

Which Trust Camp Are You In?

🚩 RED FLAGS (Breaking Down)

• Team members feel micromanaged and treated like children.
• People feel unsupported or abandoned because the leader is entirely hands-off.
• Leaders checking work and making people "empty their packs" without ever explaining why it needs to be verified.

✅ GREEN FLAGS (Working Well)

• The leader explicitly tells the team how they build trust.
• "Trust but verify" is used for high-stakes tasks with clear communication.
• Team members feel empowered, safe, and cared for because they know where they stand.

Which Trust Camp Are You In?

SELF-CHECK: WHICH CAMP DO YOU LEAN TOWARD?

• Q1: When assigning a task to a trained team member, do you cut them loose immediately (Camp 1) or prefer to oversee the first few steps (Camp 2)?
• Q2: Do you assume people have what they need to succeed (Camp 1), or do you make them metaphorically "empty their packs" to verify their tools (Camp 2)?
• Q3: Does leaving a task completely unsupervised give you peace of mind (Camp 1) or low-level anxiety (Camp 2)?

ACTION

Based on the questions above, pinpoint your default camp. In your next 1-on-1, explicitly share this trust philosophy with your direct report and ask them how they prefer to build trust.