If you're in the B2B software industry like me, you know all too well that the bottom line has reemerged as businesses' main focus. Over the past two years, there’s been a monumental shift in priorities, pivoting from a focus on growth and scale to a focus on profitability. As a result, software-as-a-service (SaaS) leaders are looking at all possible levers to drive greater performance—including leadership effectiveness.

PwC's 2024 Trust Study found that, although 86% of executives reported a high level of trust toward their employees, only 60% of workers feel that trust. The significance of this gap is compounded by the fact that 93% of business executives believe "building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line." So if your goal is to drive performance and improve your bottom line, the critical question is "What can leaders do to close this trust gap?"

What Does Trust Look Like?

Before we dive into the how of building trust, it’s important to understand what trust in the workplace means. Ginny Clarke, an expert in conscious leadership and trust, says trustworthiness in the workplace is defined by actions, behavior and transparency. To earn trust, leaders must model the behavior they expect. However, this is easier said than done because modeling idealized behavior and actions requires two core competencies: self-awareness and intentionality.

Before I joined G2 as the chief people officer, I was a conscious leadership coach. This philosophy emphasizes emotional intelligence, self-awareness and ethical decision-making. Conscious leaders consider the well-being of all stakeholders, which ultimately encourages creativity, innovation, diversity of thought and greater performance.

When you work in an industry where innovation and novelty are the lifeblood of success, getting back to the basics like this can feel counterintuitive. But managing and inspiring people requires reigniting the fundamental human elements of leadership.

3 Strategies For Building Trust With Teams

If you're looking to build more trust with your workforce, here are three ways to close the gap and inspire greater performance.

1. Demonstrate trust through actions.

Reciprocity is a fundamental social norm, and it's how trust is built. Employees can’t trust their leaders if they don't feel trusted themselves. You should empower teams to act on their initiative, intuition and best judgment. Instill confidence, then give them autonomy.

At G2, we call this “freedom and responsibility.” Employees can work as choose, but they're held accountable and responsible for whatever the results may be. This leadership principle helps cultivate a workforce that's agile and flexible.

2. Be reliable, consistent and transparent.

The path to trustworthiness includes keeping your word and honoring employees' time. It’s this consistency that ensures teams feel secure and have a sense of stability. It’s also critical to be transparent and set realistic expectations. Overpromising and under-delivering can erode trust by creating uncertainty. Once expectations are set, deliver on your commitments.

That's why clean agreements are a critical practice in conscious leadership. They remove ambiguity by clearly defining who's involved and responsible, what the scope and goals are and when milestones must be achieved. Clean agreements must also be mutual, realistic and renegotiable. As leaders, these pacts are a way to hold both ourselves and our teams accountable.

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