Have you ever worked with someone or a group of people and everything was just easy? You knew they were going to do what they said they were going to do. You communicated well, both verbally and nonverbally. It was clear you were on the same page. Hopefully you’ve had that experience.
But have you also experienced the opposite, where nothing seemed clear? You misinterpreted or misunderstood everything your partner or your team said, and vice versa. Work product didn’t meet expectations, and it felt impossible to get aligned.
In both scenarios, the difference was trust.
We often overlook it because trust is so foundational it fades into the background — until it breaks down. And while we might get lucky and stumble upon someone who just seems to “get it,” chances are they’ve built trust intentionally.
We’re not taught this in law school or even in most professional settings. But I’ve learned from experience that it’s critical to name the behaviors that build trust and the ones that erode it. It’s also critical to practice the former with care and consistency.
TL;DR: Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned About Trust Since Law School
- Trust isn’t just personal. It’s structural and behavioral.
- As lawyers, our training often primes us to do the very things that erode trust.
- Trust is your most powerful tool as a leader. It fuels performance, collaboration and culture.
- Building trust is a skill, not a trait. You can learn it.
- You have to extend trust to earn trust.
Why Lawyers May Have Trust Issues
You may be thinking, what does this have to do with the practice of law? I’m an attorney. I’m paid to spot risks, solve problems and advise clients. And you’d be right.
Our technical training really is sometimes counterintuitive to the behaviors we need for building trust. For instance, lawyers are often more skeptical than the general population. That serves us well in many contexts.
Whether you’re a litigator arguing your case, an M&A lawyer negotiating against the other side or someone navigating a complicated regulatory framework, you’re trained to poke holes in arguments and anticipate the worst. You’re rewarded for being right and being precise.
But when you lead others, these strengths can become liabilities.
- Perfectionism can turn into micromanagement.
- Skepticism can morph into withholding trust.
- High standards can lead to hoarding the most meaningful work.
- A results-at-all-costs mindset can ignore the human toll of how those results are achieved.
And because we weren’t taught to think about leadership and trust building as actual skills, we might not even notice when we’re eroding trust in our teams.
I’ve made those mistakes. I’ve corrected those mistakes. And I’ve seen what happens when legal leaders get it right.
Publisher’s note: Chasity will be speaking on April 13 at The Dallas Morning News for a Texas Lawbook Leadership Symposium program in partnership with the DFW Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. Please email brooks.igo@texaslawbook.net for more information.
Building Trust on Purpose
A few years ago, my team read The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey, and I still go back to it often. The book outlines behaviors that help build or erode trust, and I’ve seen how powerfully they apply to the practice of law.
Here are six trust-building behaviors that matter a great deal for legal leaders:
1. Talk straight.
Say what you mean. Don’t spin. Don’t hedge. That doesn’t mean over-sharing or abandoning nuance. It just means being clear. One of the quickest ways to erode trust is to make people guess what you’re really thinking.
This is especially important when you’re giving feedback, sharing a change in direction or responding to a request. Your team, and your clients, can handle the truth. What they can’t handle is confusion.
2. Demonstrate respect.
This one feels obvious, but in practice, it’s easy to overlook. Do you listen without interrupting? Do you respond to emails in a timely manner? Do you give credit publicly? These are small, human acts that show respect, and they build trust over time.
When you’re leading lawyers, this becomes even more important. Our profession can be competitive and hierarchical. Respect levels the playing field.
3. Create transparency.
Share information. Explain your decisions. If you’re moving someone off a project, tell them why. If you’re aligning around new priorities, show how and when those decisions were made.
You don’t have to overshare, but when people understand the why behind your actions, they’re more likely to stay engaged and trust your leadership.
4. Right wrongs.
Trust isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being accountable. When you make a mistake (and we all do), own it, fix it and move forward. And if the mistake impacted someone else, say so. You’d be surprised how powerful a simple, “I missed that — thank you for catching it,” can be.
This also applies to how we treat others when they mess up. Grace builds trust.
5. Deliver results.
This one speaks our language. As lawyers, we’re trained to produce, to execute. But in leadership, results aren’t just about what you deliver. They’re about what your team delivers.
Building trust here means consistently doing what you say you’ll do and helping your team do the same. Results without trust may earn compliance. Results with trust earn commitment.
6. Extend trust.
This might be the hardest one for lawyers, because extending trust means giving it before it’s fully earned. It means assuming positive intent.
As a leader, this looks like delegating meaningful work, resisting the urge to micromanage and letting people rise to the occasion. It also means trusting others to make decisions, even if they’d make them differently than you would.
The best part? Extending trust often creates a virtuous cycle. When people feel trusted, we tend to rise to the level of that trust.
What I’m Still Practicing
Even now, after years in leadership, I have to be intentional about building trust.
When I’m under pressure, my default can be to take over, to move fast, to rely on my own judgment. But I’ve learned that pausing to explain, looping others in and showing vulnerability gets better results and builds stronger teams.
No one ever said leadership was easy. But it gets better when trust is the foundation.
Closing Reflection
Join me in reflecting on ways your actions build or erode trust. What one or two actions can you commit to doing (or not doing) today that will make you a better leader tomorrow?
Editor’s note: This series explores what it really means to lead with clarity, courage and purpose — especially in high-stakes environments. If you missed Chasity’s first article, she draws from her experiences as a law firm associate, in-house legal executive, board leader and mentor, to share lessons that go beyond titles and job descriptions. Her second article noted leadership lessons that weren’t taught in law school but should have been.
About the Author
Chasity Wilson Henry is a senior legal executive, board leader and advocate for values-based leadership in law and beyond. She currently serves as senior vice president and general counsel at Jacobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.