Trust Falls and Other Workplace Injuries (How to build, break and repair trust at work)

Trust is one of those words that gets used a lot in organisations and examined rarely. In this episode, Kate and Maddie get into what trust actually means in the context of teams, why low trust is so costly, and what you can do to build and repair it in practice.
They explore a framework for understanding trust not as a single thing but as a set of distinct components, and why that distinction matters enormously when something has gone wrong.

What We Cover
Why trust matters more than most organisations realise
Low trust has a measurable cost. When people don't feel safe, they stop collaborating openly, they paper-trail decisions, and they spend energy managing the mistrust rather than doing the work. Kate shares some vivid examples from her own career.
What trust actually is
Trust, at its simplest, is choosing to make yourself vulnerable to another person's actions. Teammates have to get comfortable with that vulnerability in order to build real trust with one another.
The different types of trust
Rather than treating trust as all or nothing, Kate and Maddie explore a model that breaks it into three core components: competence trust (can you do what you say?), integrity trust (will you do what you said?), and benevolence trust (do you care about my interests?). They also discuss sincerity as a fourth dimension: do you mean what you say?
How trust is built
It is not built in big moments. It is stacked in small, repeated, reciprocal actions over time. Kate and Maddie talk through what that looks like in practice, and why the away day is not the answer (though it can play a supporting role when done well).
Organised fun: what works and what really does not
Trust falls. Compulsory group dances. Outdoor adventure days with no opt-out. Kate and Maddie have opinions. They also point to Priya Parker's work on intentional gatherings as a more considered approach.
How to repair trust when it breaks
The repair looks different depending on which type of trust has fractured. Kate and Maddie walk through practical approaches for each: narrowing and demonstrating competence, owning integrity gaps without justification, and listening deeply when benevolence trust has been broken.
Team contracting as a foundation
Setting clear, explicit agreements about how a team works together gives everyone a shared reference point. It makes calling out a breach of trust feel less personal and more like holding each other to what was agreed.
Reflecting on your own pattern of trust
How do you approach trust with someone you don't know yet? Are you trust-first, or do you need evidence first? Are there types of people you tend to trust more or less quickly? These questions are worth sitting with.

References and Resources
The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman
A short, practical book on trust in organisations. Explores sincerity, reliability, competence, and care as the core components of trust.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Trust is the foundational layer in Lencioni's model. The book includes practical exercises for building it. Worth reading alongside the framework discussed in this episode.
An integrative model of organizational trust, Mayer, Davis & Schoorman (1995) 

Research on competence-based, integrity-based, and benevolence-based trust in organisational contexts.
Brene Brown on trust and vulnerability
Brene Brown's work on vulnerability underpins much of the conversation in this episode. Her TED Talk on vulnerability remains one of the most watched of all time. She also has specific resources on trust, including her BRAVING acronym, available at brenebrown.com.
Amy Brann, Neuroscience for Coaches
Referenced in relation to how low psychological safety activates threat responses in the brain, reducing the capacity for higher-order thinking and collaboration.
Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering
Mentioned in relation to how to bring teams together intentionally. A practical and thoughtful guide to designing gatherings, both social and organisational, that actually do what you want them to do.

Practical Things to Try

Identify which type of trust has broken down. When something feels off in a relationship or team, ask whether it is a competence issue, an integrity issue, or a benevolence issue. The answer shapes the conversation.
Reflect on your own pattern of trust. Do you extend trust by default, or do you need evidence first? Are there patterns in who you tend to trust more or less readily? What criteria are you using?
Contract with your team on ways of working. Make your expectations of one another explicit. It gives you a foundation to return to if trust is breached, without it feeling like a personal attack.
In a repair conversation: own the gap, explain the reasoning, and then be boring. Acknowledge what happened, provide context without justification, and then be predictably consistent until a new track record is established.

Next Episode
Kate and Maddie are talking about conflict in teams. If you have a question, conundrum, or situation involving conflict at work that you would like them to discuss in a bonus episode, send it to hello@acuriousspacepodcast.com. All questions are handled anonymously.

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Wonderful Producer: Tim Fox
Fabulous Music: Richard Flindell