I think a lot about trust and how I’m perceived by the people I manage and the peers I work alongside. Not in a self conscious way, but in a practical one. Trust determines how effective you can actually be. Without it, everything is harder than it needs to be.

I’ve learned that trust isn’t built by talking about what you’re doing or what you plan to do. It’s built through action. Showing up. Following through. Doing the work, even when it’s unglamorous. Over time, those moments stack up and start to define who you are.

When I look at the people I trust most, the pattern is simple. They do what they say they’re going to do. They do it well. And they do it consistently. That consistency removes doubt. I don’t have to check in, remind, or worry. I just know it’ll get done.

That kind of reliability compounds. It earns advocacy without asking for it. You vouch for those people because you’ve seen it firsthand.

Trust isn’t built in big moments or speeches. It’s built quietly, through repeated behavior over time.

If you don’t have trust, you don’t have a long runway on that team.