Welcome to this episode of The Leader’s Journey Podcast, where we take a deep dive into one of the most foundational — and often fragile — elements of leadership and community: trust. In this extended conversation, we explore how trust gets broken, why it's so emotionally charged, and what it really takes to rebuild it — both in relationships and within organizations. Whether you're a leader trying to repair harm, or someone deciding whether to trust again, this conversation is for you.

Converstation Overview

• Trust is a two-way street: Both parties play a role in either building or breaking trust. It’s not about assigning equal blame, but about seeing the complexity of the system we’re part of.

• There are different kinds of trust: Sincerity, reliability, competence, and care — and naming which one was broken matters.

• The emotional impact matters: It's not enough to just hear feedback; trust repair requires acknowledging and connecting to the pain your actions caused.

• Restoration is mutual: Even after an apology, the other person has to “let it count” for trust to begin to rebuild..

• Trust takes time: Just because someone is trying to change doesn’t mean trust will instantly be restored. Rebuilding is often slow, with regular check-ins along the way.

• Trust yourself: At the end of the day, we each have to develop trust in our own capacity to be okay, even if trust isn’t fully restored with someone else.

Resources

• The Thin Book of Trust by Charles Feltman

• The Leaders Journey Youtube Channel

• Coaching support from The Leader’s Journey team

• The Leaders Journey Blog