Trust is fragile-but necessary

In any professional setting, trust is both the foundation of great work and the reason for some of our biggest disappointments. There will be moments when you feel rewarded for trusting people. And there will be moments when you feel absolutely foolish for doing so.

It often starts small—sharing an opinion with someone you believe will keep it to themselves, only to realize they don’t. You find that secrets are rarely safe, that everyone has someone they confide in, sometimes out of trust, sometimes for leverage.

Trust isn’t just tested in personal conversations—it’s woven into the fabric of how we work together. You rely on people to follow through on their word, to honor their commitments, to do what they say they will. And yet, as Dr. House famously said, “Everybody lies.” Not always out of malice—sometimes out of fear, pressure, or misjudgment. But when that trust is broken, the consequences can be far more significant than you ever anticipated.

Over time, these experiences don’t just change how you work—they change who you are. They shape how you make decisions, how you engage with people, how you build relationships. Now, scale this across an organization, and what do you get?

A workplace where no one truly trusts each other. Where people show up not for the mission, but because they have nowhere else to go—or because the paycheck is good. Where colleagues become mere employees, working side by side yet disconnected, guarded, political. Not because they are bad people, but because they’ve been burned before.

I’ve seen this happen too many times. And for unfortunate reasons, I’ve been part of it too. I’ve stood in that exact moment of doubt, asking myself: Should I really trust anyone here?

And every time, my answer has been: Yes. Absolutely.

Not because I’m naïve. Not because I forget what’s happened. But because I know the cost of not trusting is far worse. I know that if we don’t choose to trust, we risk creating an environment where no one thrives.

I will trust my teams. I will trust my colleagues. Again and again. Not blindly, not without learning from past mistakes, but with the belief that people—deep down—mean well. That everyone has a story I don’t know, a battle I haven’t seen.

Because what’s the alternative? A workplace built on suspicion, resentment, and isolation? That’s not an option.

Rebuilding trust is hard. But it’s the only way forward.