What if your team’s performance didn’t rely solely on processes, tools, or KPIs, but primarily on an intangible ingredient: trust?
The word “trust” comes from the Latin confidere, “to rely on,” formed from cum (with) and fidere (to believe, to have faith). It literally means “to believe with”: a relational disposition where one chooses to rely on another, despite potential risk.
In business, trust manifests itself at several levels: self-confidence (the essential foundation for taking risks); interpersonal trust (I trust my colleague because I believe in their ability to do their job well); trust between managers and teams, and trust in one’s organization (I believe my company makes fair and consistent decisions); and also systemic trust (I trust the tools and processes—onboarding, feedback, evaluation—that are in place).
It rests on three pillars: competence, integrity, and benevolence.
The benefits of trust in our industries.
When trust is properly balanced, it brings direct benefits to the business:
- Increased productivity: Less time spent supervising, more autonomy for employees.
- Better talent retention: Teams that feel supported and accountable for their projects are more motivated.
- Greater job satisfaction: Employees work in an environment that fosters personal and professional fulfillment.
- Strengthened innovation and cooperation: By trusting, you unlock creative energy and encourage collaboration.
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In practice.
At L’Oréal, marketing teams have considerable autonomy in managing their local campaigns. Headquarters sets a global framework, but field teams control activations based on their deep market understanding.
👉 What this shows: trusting field expertise allows you to adapt global strategies to local realities while gaining in responsiveness.
At Michelin, principles of empowerment are central to managerial transformation. The “empowerment and autonomy” program enables teams to make decisions without systematic hierarchical validation, within a clearly defined framework.
👉 What this shows: organizational trust can scale broadly, with positive effects on engagement and initiative-taking.
At Danone, a test&learn culture is encouraged within innovation and marketing divisions. Employees are encouraged to experiment with new ideas, even if not all succeed. Mistakes are not penalized; they are analyzed collectively to feed collective intelligence.
👉 What this shows: in a competitive environment, trust in the right to fail drives innovation and team resilience.
Trust is not a luxury; it’s a strategic resource, especially in communication, digital, and marketing roles that rely on people, collective intelligence, and agility. Managers, don’t wait for trust to develop: foster it!