Building Trust

work group in casual discusssion

Great leadership begins with a workplace culture built on trust

Trust is at the heart of every relationship and is especially critical in the workplace. In fact, the primary factor affecting employee turnover is whether or not the employee and their manager develop a trusting relationship. Our Building Trust program teaches your managers how to build trust to increase engagement, creativity, and commitment in the workplace.

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The Elements of Trust

Understand and develop the elements of trust

We know how important trust is in every relationship. Our Building Trust training program can help your leaders and their team members learn how to build trust in the workplace and repair it when it’s broken. 

Based on 30 years of research, our trust experts have developed a simple yet powerful trust model that provides a common language and framework focused on the specific behaviors that build trust. 

With the Building Trust program, individuals can understand the impact of their behaviors on building or eroding trust and identify those aspects that need attention to develop and maintain trusting relationships. 

Delivery Options to Meet Your Needs 

We can deliver Building Trust in-person, as virtual sessions, as part of a learning journey, or delivered in a self-directed online or moderated online version, so your managers can learn how to build or restore trust wherever they are and whenever they have time.

Half-Day Instructor-led Course

This is a half-day course with four hours of instructions. With hundreds of facilitators worldwide, we can deliver sessions for your organization or equip you to run them yourself. All designs include engaging participant materials, videos, and learning activities that teach participants the following key concepts: The Building Trust framework, how to develop an action plan to engage in more trustworthy behaviors, a three-step process for restoring trust, and how to plan and practice two trustworthy conversations.

Virtual Instructor-led Course

The Building Trust virtual course consists of prework assignments completed before the course, followed by two two-hour live virtual sessions. The virtual sessions offer learners an engaging experience that includes instruction, group activities, and opportunities to practice new skills.

  • Virtual session 1: The course introduces Low and High Trust Relationships, Trustworthy and Untrustworthy Behaviors, the Building Trust Model, Trust Behaviors Sort, and Diagnosing Trustworthiness.
  • In between session 1 and 2, participants will have 30 minutes to complete and score the self-survey and create a personal development plan for increasing trust.
  • Virtual session 2: Participants learn how to restore trust and develop new skills by completing activities based on personal work challenges.
  • Participants receive a set of online tools to aid in applying the content and using it with others through Blanchard Exchange Learner Portal.

Online Overview

Building Trust Online takes your people through three modules that cover the essentials of how to build and maintain trusting relationships. The content is broken down into a variety of engaging videos, interactive exercises, case studies, and quizzes that range from one to five minutes each and can be completed in a total of 35-45 minutes.

  • Micro-activities: Ranging from one to five minutes
  • Interactive Exercises: Fun, engaging activities include videos, games, stories, case studies, and online discussions
  • On-Demand Support Tools: Micro-activities for learning during moments of need or reinforcing skills
  • Manager-Led Debrief: Optional manager-led debrief allows for collaboration and discussion for a blended learning experience

Digital Assets

Set of micro-activities, including videos, interactions, and worksheets, that managers can access in moments of need to support ongoing learning, performance coaching, reinforcement, and custom learning journeys.

Building Trust VR Simulation

Building Trust VR Simulation is a two-module immersive experience that is fully asynchronous and allows learners to practice the skills of recognizing trust and restoring trust in a safe environment. Learners use the Simulation after completing the 35-minute Overview, to reinforce and practice its skills.

Module 1: Recognizing Trust — In this module, learners help their virtual coworker Sherri diagnose which Element of Trust has been eroded on her team.

Module 2: Restoring Trust — In this module, learners continue their conversation with Sherri and guide her on how to restore trust with her team.

Building Trust VR Simulation

Virtual reality is one of the most impactful learning modalities. Blanchard’s Building Trust VR Simulation allows individuals to turn their knowledge into skills by practicing real-life conversations with a virtual human in an immersive environment. As a result, learners gain the confidence to build and restore trust in a risk-free environment.

Building Trust VR Simulation includes two modules: one on recognizing trust issues and one on restoring trust. Modules can be accessed with Oculus Quest 1 & 2 or streamed on your desktop.

Trust Works!: Four Keys to Building Lasting Relationships

Trust Works!: Four Keys to Building Lasting Relationships is an insightful guide designed to help people navigate one of the most complex issues that affects all areas of our lives: trust.

woman on a call

Trust is the biggest factor in employee performance

18% of people say they don’t trust their boss and 49% of workers claim they have quit a job due to a poor work relationship with their boss.1

45% of employees cited their lack of trust in leadership as the single biggest issue impacting their performance at work. 2


1. Workplace Insight, Half of people have quit job due to poor work relationship with boss.

2. Fast Company, Humor is such an important leadership trait we teach it at Stanford’s business school.

Build A Foundation For Trust

When you have trusting relationships between your team members and their leaders, you have the foundation for building a successful organization. This trust leads to higher levels of collaboration, increased creativity and risk-taking, more effective execution of business strategy, and increased commitment and loyalty to your company.

Improve Performance

Improve Performance

Employees have higher levels of commitment and give more discretionary effort
Retain Your Talent

Retain Your Talent

Employees are more likely to stay and endorse the company as a great place to work.
Drive Creativity & Innovation

Drive Creativity & Innovation

Employees feel safe to communicate more openly and share their best ideas.
Create Collaboration

Create Collaboration

Colleagues and teams help each other and work together to get things done.

Client Success Story

CHEMICAL

Building trust and improving performance at WD-40 Company

Learn how WD-40 increased workplace trust and built an invigorating and empowered work environment.

Read Client Story

Ready to Get Started?

Contact us today to learn how we can help your leaders learn the skills they need to manage and develop their people effectively. 

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Related Resources

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Whitepaper

The Critical Link to a High-Involvement, High-Energy Workplace Begins with a Common Language

Learn how to watch for signs that trust is eroding, analyze where the breakdowns are occurring, and work to rebuild trust.
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Video

Blanchard’s Building Trust VR Simulation

Allow individuals to turn their knowledge into skills by practicing life-like conversations with a virtual human in an immersive environment. 
Watch Video
Webinar

Accelerating Trust During Times of Change

Trust practice leader Randy Conley shows how leaders can improve trust by identifying gaps that trip up even the best leaders. 
Watch Webinar
Click to Open Video Modal
Video

How do you improve a low-trust work environment? 

Ken Blanchard shares a common language and framework focused on the specific behaviors that build trust.
Watch Video