Trust by Design: The Equation Behind High-Performance Teams
- Brad Gaulin
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Brad Gaulin, Chief Transformation Officer | Transformational Team Coach
In every successful team transformation, one thing comes before strategy, systems, or skills: trust.
As a coach working with leadership teams across industries, I’ve seen it time and again—when trust is strong, teams move faster, think clearer, and achieve more together. When trust is weak, even the most talented individuals can’t produce consistent results. Ultimately trust is the key to building high performance teams that can grow businesses independent of ownership, which makes the business salable and adds huge value to the price tag.
That’s why trust is the first focus area in the Building Great Teams workshop, grounded in Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It’s not just a warm-up concept. It’s the cornerstone of everything that follows—conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.
And to build trust with intention, we use a powerful tool: the Trust Equation.
The Trust Equation: A Proven Formula for Building Trust
Developed by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford in The Trusted Advisor, the Trust Equation gives us a practical way to measure trustworthiness: T = (C + R + I) / S
Where:
T = Trustworthiness
C = Credibility (Do I believe you?)
R = Reliability (Can I count on you?)
I = Intimacy (Do I feel safe with you?)
S = Self-Orientation (Are you focused on yourself— or on others?)
Why the Equation Works
Trust isn’t a feeling. It’s built through consistent behaviors. The Trust Equation gives us language to diagnose and improve how we show up in teams, leadership, and client relationships.
Research-Backed Insight: Two Factors Matter Most
While all four elements in the equation matter, research and experience show that two factors drive trust the most powerfully:
Intimacy (Psychological Safety) - This is about emotional safety. Intimacy answers the question: "Can I be open with you without fear?" When intimacy is high, people speak up, admit mistakes, ask for help, and give feedback without fear of judgment.
Google's Project Aristotle found psychological safety to be the #1 predictor of team success—because people perform better when they feel safe.
Trust lives in safety. When people feel emotionally safe, performance takes off.
Self-Orientation (The Trust Killer) - Self-orientation refers to how much someone’s behavior is driven by personal interest, ego, or image rather than a true focus on others or the team.
Even if someone is smart and competent, high self-orientation can destroy trust. Others sense when someone is "in it for themselves" rather than "for us."
The lower the self-orientation, the higher the trust.
The Other Elements Matter Too:
Credibility – What You Say - Credibility is about your words, communication, and perceived expertise. Do people believe you know what you're talking about? Do you communicate with honesty, clarity, and humility?
In teams: Credibility shows up when team members contribute valuable input, speak thoughtfully, and acknowledge when they don't have all the answers. It's not just about being right—it's about being real.
Credibility builds when people speak with confidence AND humility.
Reliability – What You Do - Reliability is about action and consistency. Can people count on you? Do you follow through on what you say you’ll do?
In teams: Reliability means showing up prepared, meeting deadlines, and doing the small things that create a pattern of trust. Even small commitments followed through on consistently create strong trust signals.
Reliability builds predictability. Predictability builds trust.
Applying the Trust Equation in Teams
In our Building Great Teams workshop, participants don’t just learn the Trust Equation—they practice it.
Through structured reflection and discussion, we help leaders and teams explore:
Where they rank on each element of the equation
Which behaviors build trust vs. erode it
How they can create more psychological safety and reduce self-orientation in daily work
When intimacy increases and self-orientation drops, everything else improves.
Coaching Prompts for Leaders & Teams
Where am I strong in the Trust Equation? Where can I improve?
What do I do that signals trust—or erodes it?
Do I show up with the team in mind, or just my goals?
What can I do today to create more safety and predictability?
Trusted Teams Deliver:
Faster decisions
Honest conversations
Stronger accountability
Greater resilience and results
Trust isn’t built by accident. It’s built by design.
Use the Trust Equation as your guide, and you’ll build teams that don’t just work together—they thrive together.
Want to bring this workshop into your organization? Let’s talk about how to equip your leaders and teams to trust more, grow faster, and win together.
Chief Transformation Officer
MExit Inc.
April 9, 2025
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