Trust is one of the most important ingredients of a healthy organization – and one leaders must work to build. It’s also one of the easiest things for a leader to damage.
I’ve learned that people are constantly evaluating whether they can trust their leader.
Can I tell them what I really think? Is it okay to disagree? Can I admit a mistake? Will they listen to me? Do they really trust me?
Amy Edmondson, author of The Fearless Organization (no relation, by the way), has written extensively about psychological safety. It’s the idea that people need to feel safe enough to speak honestly, offer ideas, challenge assumptions, and even admit mistakes without fear of embarrassment or punishment.
I’ve seen the difference this makes in organizations I’ve led.
And I’ve learned that sometimes the simplest words from a leader can help create this kind of culture.
Here are 5 powerful phrases leaders should use more often to build organizational trust.
1. “I don’t know.”
Some leaders feel they must always have an answer. After all, they’re the leader. They’re supposed to know.
But no leader knows everything. And pretending otherwise doesn’t make people trust us more. In fact, most people already recognize the areas where we’re not the expert.
Saying “I don’t know” communicates honesty and humility. It also gives other people permission to contribute what they know.
I’ve tried to surround myself with people who are smarter than me in areas where I’m weak. It makes no sense to have those people on the team and then pretend I have all the answers.
Sometimes the most valuable thing a leader can do is admit they don’t know and start asking better questions.
2. “I need your help.”
This one can be difficult for leaders who feel responsible for everything. We may think asking for help makes us appear weak or incapable.
I’ve found the opposite is usually true.
When I ask someone for help, I’m communicating that I value their abilities, experience, and perspective.
I’m also inviting them into the process rather than simply expecting them to carry out my decisions. People tend to support more enthusiastically what they’ve helped develop.
And here’s something I’ve learned – You can’t expect people to take ownership if you never invite them into the work.
Sometimes a leader’s willingness to ask for help is what allows someone else to discover their leadership potential.
3. “I was wrong.”
These may be three of the hardest words for a leader to say. Especially publicly.
But leaders make mistakes. I’ve made plenty of them.
Sometimes I’ve made the wrong decision. Sometimes I’ve responded poorly. I’ve been convinced I was right only to discover someone else had a better understanding of the situation.
When that happens, I need to own it.
Not to explain it away or blame circumstances – or to offer an apology that somehow makes it someone else’s fault.
Simply admit I was wrong.
Here’s why this matters organizationally.
When leaders can’t admit mistakes, people learn to hide theirs.
And when people hide mistakes, the organization loses opportunities to learn and improve.
A leader’s humility can give an entire team permission to be honest.
4. “I can’t do this.”
Let me clarify. I’m not suggesting leaders should abandon their responsibilities or give up when things get difficult.
I’m suggesting we recognize our limitations. There are some things I simply can’t do. I don’t have the skills, the time, the experience, or the capacity.
And the larger an organization becomes, the more obvious those limitations should be.
Unfortunately, some leaders keep trying to do everything themselves. They become the bottleneck for decisions, creativity, and progress.
I learned years ago that you limit what you control.
Sometimes saying “I can’t do this” is the first step toward allowing someone else to do something far better than you ever could.
Healthy organizations aren’t built around the abilities of one leader. They’re built by bringing out the abilities of everyone on the team.
5. “I trust you. Run with it.”
This may be one of the most empowering things a leader can say. And one of the hardest to practice.
It’s easy to tell people we trust them. It’s another thing to actually release control. Real trust means giving people authority along with responsibility.
It means communicating the vision, clarifying expectations, providing the resources they need, and then allowing them freedom to accomplish the work. Even when they do it differently than we would.
That last part is often where leaders struggle.
I’ve learned that if I continually step back in, change their decisions, or insist everything be done my way, people eventually stop taking initiative.
Why wouldn’t they? They’ve learned that whatever they decide will probably be changed anyway.
Trust doesn’t eliminate accountability. We still need clear expectations and honest evaluation.
But people need room to succeed without the leader controlling every step. And sometimes they need the freedom to fail, learn, and try again.
One of the greatest compliments a leader can receive is seeing people accomplish things they never would have attempted without being given the opportunity.
One final thought
Of course, none of these phrases builds trust simply because we say them. People are watching what happens after we say them.
Do we actually listen when someone disagrees? Can we accept correction? Will we share credit? Do we give people genuine freedom to lead?
Trust is built over time through consistent words and actions. Psychological safety doesn’t mean lowering expectations or avoiding difficult conversations. Healthy teams can have both high accountability and high trust.
In fact, I believe people do their best work when they know they are trusted, valued, and free to be honest.
The goal isn’t to build an organization where everyone believes the leader has all the answers. It’s to build one where people aren’t afraid to speak up, contribute, and help find better answers.
Leader, which of these five phrases do you need to use more often?
