We learn from our mistakes

The three ways to develop high-trust leadership

Trusted leadership increases performance and well-being in companies

by Nicola Chighine*

7 October 2025

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In its recent publication European Workforce Study 2025, the company Great Place to Work highlighted how high-trust leadership is crucial for creating widespread well-being and high performance in organisations today.

One statistic is more striking than others: in companies where leadership based on trust is lacking, the rate of employee retention stands at 11 per cent. In organisations where trust is widespread and recognised, the percentage rises to 84 per cent. But what do we mean when we talk about trust? The dictionary defines it as an attitude towards others or oneself that arises from a positive assessment of facts, circumstances and relationships, and which generates security and peace of mind. In the company, trust translates into collaboration, a sense of belonging and motivation. Without trust, teams slow down, coordination costs increase, bureaucracy grows, and fear of failure and silent obstructionism spreads. With trust, on the other hand, execution speed increases, a safe environment in which to take risks and innovate develops, and people stay and contribute with energy.

The components of high-trust leadership

What are the elements that build trust around a leader? I have identified four basic ones:

- Competence: a leader must be, and show himself/herself to be, competent. Imagine that you have to board a plane flown by an untrained and inexperienced pilot: would you trust him/her? Competence is the cognitive basis of trust, that which allows one to believe that a person is capable of facing the challenges that the position requires.

- Common good: organisations live with tensions, trade-offs and dilemmas. A leader generates trust when he or she uses the common good as his or her compass, even when it does not suit him or her personally or requires unpopular decisions. It is the difference between those who lead with ego and those who lead with purpose and wisdom.

- Integrity means consistency of values, acting with honesty and transparency, not hiding but taking responsibility even for mistakes. A leader who pretends, who 'adjusts' the rules according to convenience, undermines trust much faster than he builds it.

- Reliability: it is the alignment between words and actions, the ability to deliver on commitments, to be predictable and consistent. People trust leaders who deliver what they promise and who give continuity over time.

The Triangle of Trust

If these are the constitutive dimensions, understanding how people perceive trust is helped by the Trust Triangle, developed by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss for the Harvard Business Review.

Three are the 'lenses' through which we observe and evaluate leaders:

1. Logic: it is the perception of competence, knowledge and the ability to apply it effectively. A leader who simulates competence by disguising it as power does not generate trust, but suspicion.

2.Empathy: it manifests itself in behaviour, in words, in caring gestures. An empathic leader utilises all forms of empathy, cognitive, emotional and above all active, transforming them into concrete actions of listening and support.

3.Authenticity: we feel it when we meet the person's 'true self'. In contrast, leaders who shield themselves behind masks or façade strategies feed distance and distrust.

Three trajectories to develop confidence

So how can one develop high-trust leadership? There is no magic formula, but I share some trajectories that can guide us.

Working on oneself

Trust cannot be created without first cultivating it in oneself. It is a path of awareness, alignment to one's values and consistency even when it is difficult or costs sacrifice. The most trustworthy friends, it is said, are not just those who come to the party, but those who stay to clean up afterwards.

Co-creation of trust

Trust is not a unilateral act, nor a matter of hierarchy. It is a shared process, which everyone must nurture. In this sense, leadership is not only of the formal leader, but of anyone who contributes to generating a secure and collaborative environment.

Relationship maintenance

Trust is built over time and requires constant care. It means finding space in people's diaries, really listening to them, creating moments of even informal sharing. Quarterly one-to-ones are not enough: you need presence and openness.

Morgan, in a wonderful song by Bluvertigo, sang: 'When I trust you, you don't need to trust me'.

In organisations, however, I believe that trust works the other way around: it is always mutual, always shared. High-trust leadership is not an optional 'soft skill', but a strategic competitive advantage. In times of widespread uncertainty and fragility, trust is what turns fear into courage, disconnection into belonging, control into responsibility.

*Consultant Newton Spa

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Tutti gli eventi

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.

Management