The manager who took his manufacturing plant from the lowest to the highest producer nationwide within 18 months.
The VP of Finance who increased engagement by 25% and got a faltering $30 million initiative back on track.
The Nursing Director of a renowned research hospital who spearheaded a controversial, hardline “no gossip” policy…and saw employee and patient satisfaction scores increase by double digits.
The team leader who stepped away from a meeting to call his wife ended up having the best conversation he’d had in 10 years.
What do these people have in common?
They know their success and satisfaction – both in business and in life – depend on trust. They know that trusting relationships are built by making certain choices. Specifically, choices around how they show up in their relationships with other people.
In other words, their behavior.
Are you willing to make different choices about your behavior? Choices that build trust in your ability to lead, both at work and outside of work?
After all, you don’t need direct reports to be a leader. You’re already accountable – to yourself. You lead your own life, right?
We’ll be straight with you: building and sustaining trust is hard work. It’s not a one-and-done, plug-and-play exercise. To become a high-trust leader – a high-trust person – you’ve got to work at it. We all do.
But that’s what leadership’s all about, right? Working at it.
Leadership Trustworthiness Is Built Through Everyday Choices
Trust doesn’t come from a title, position, or one grand gesture. It grows through the choices you make every day.
Do you follow through on your commitments?
Do you communicate openly and honestly?
Do you give people the information they need?
Do you address concerns directly instead of allowing frustration to build?
Do you acknowledge mistakes and take responsibility for your impact?
These seemingly small choices send powerful signals about whether others can rely on you.
And the work is never finished.
Even the most trusted leaders benefit from stepping back and asking: Where am I already building trust effectively? Where might my actions unintentionally be getting in the way?
That kind of reflection creates the opportunity to make stronger choices about how you show up in your relationships.
Trust Begins With You
You can’t control how everyone around you behaves. You can control how you respond, how you communicate, and how consistently you demonstrate trustworthiness.
The more intentionally you practice trust building behaviors, the better positioned you are to truly connect with people, strengthen relationships, and bring out the best in others – and in yourself.
Leadership trustworthiness isn’t something you achieve once.
It’s something you practice.
Yours in trust,
Dennis Reina
Updated November 2025