Ep. 003 Building Trust And Cultivating Strong Relationships

Welcome back to Bread to Lead, the podcast dedicated to exploring people-first leadership principles that empower you to bring out the best in your teams. Leaders, we're in episode three.
We're going to be talking about building trust and cultivating strong relationships. I'm your host, Dr.
Jake Taylor-Jacobs. In our last episode, we delved into redefining leadership of the 21st century, focusing on adaptability, emotional intelligence, and empowering others.
Today, we're building on the foundation by discussing the core of people-first leadership, trust, and strong relationships. Listen, leaders, trust is the bedrock upon which all great teams and organizations are built.
Without trust, there can be no true collaboration, innovation, or engagement. Think about the relationships in your life where trust is lacking, whether with family, friends, or even a colleague.
The constant second-guessing, the guardedness, the lack of open communication. Now imagine trying to lead or be a part of a high-performing team in that environment.
It's nearly impossible. On the flip side, reflect on the relationship and the teams where deep trust and genuine connection exist.

The comfort of being your authentic self, the generosity of sharing ideas without fear of judgment,

the commitment to having each other's back through challenges in this atmosphere.

People feel empowered to take smart risks, have difficult but necessary conversations and go beyond

and above what's required. Or I think it's called above and beyond either way.
This is the environment where people first leadership intentionally cultivate. But here's the thing.
Building trust and forging strong relationships is something. It isn't something that just happens organically, especially in the workplace.
It takes consistent, purposeful effort and a sincere investment of time and care. It requires us to show up with empathy, transparency, and a commitment to supporting other people, not just as employees, but as human beings.
So how do we actually do this? How do we build the kind of deep trust and authentic connections that fuel people first leadership? Over my years of experience as an entrepreneur, turnaround executive and leadership coach, I found a few key practices that make all of the difference. Number one, lead with vulnerability.
As leaders, it's tempting to feel like we have, we need to have all of the answers and always project an image of unflappable strength. But the truth is, vulnerability is not a weakness.
It's a strength that breeds trust and connection. When we have the courage to share our own challenges, mistakes, and areas for growth, we give others permission to do the same.
We create a culture of psychological safety where people feel comfortable taking risks and being transparent about their own journeys. I'll never forget that defining moment early in my leadership journey when I received some pretty tough 360 feedback about my communication style.
I was devastated at first. I wanted to hide away, lick my wounds and literally say, if all y'all, if it wasn't for me, y'all wouldn't be here here but I knew that would only breed more distance and mistrust with my team so at our next meeting I opened up and shared the feedback vulnerability I said vulnerability I opened up and shared the feedback vulnerably along with my commitment to working on it and my request for their ongoing support and feedback.
The moment of vulnerable leadership was a game changer for me. It showed my team that I was a human and I was committed to growth and that I valued their honest input.
It laid the foundation for much more trusting and productive relationships moving forward. So don't be afraid to lead with vulnerability.
It's a necessary ingredient for cultivating trust and connection. We don't want them to think that we're God, right? Number two, make time for non-work conversations.
Building genuine relationships requires us to see and know each other as a whole people, not just as roles we play at work. But in the busyness of the day to day grind, it's easy to focus only on tasks and outcomes and neglect the human element.
People first leadership are intentionally about carving out time and space for non-work conversations, whether it's grabbing a coffee or lunch, celebrating personal milestones, or just checking in on a human level. We're not computers, y'all.
One practice that I found incredibly valuable is starting my one-on-ones with a few minutes of personal connection before diving into the agenda.

I'll ask questions like, what was the highlight of your weekend? How is your family doing? Sometimes these conversations surface important contexts that helps me lead the person better. But even when they don't, they reinforce that I see and value them as human beings, not just an employee.
It fosters a sense of caring and connection that ripples into the working relationship. Now, there is a caveat here.
We never want a non-work conversation to feel forced or invasive. The key is creating an environment where they happen naturally, not prescriptively.
And we must always respect individual boundaries around what people feel comfortable sharing. But make the time and space for that human connection.
It's a critical investment in building trust and belonging amongst your team. Number three, y'all know Dr.
Jake loves to just give y'all like one twos and threes. I want y'all to have real takeaways from this podcast, something that you can pop into your ear and just get that value.
Number three, communicate with radical candor. People first leaders understand that trust is a function of both caring personally and challenging directly.
We build trust by showing our people that we care about them as human beings and that we are willing to have the tough conversations that will help them grow. Kim Scott, the author of the book, Radical Candor, calls this the sweet spot between extreme empathy, caring without challenging and obnoxious aggression, challenging without caring.

Communicating with radical candor means coupling deep care with direct feedback. It means giving praise that is specific, sincere and individualized.

It means delivering criticism that is kind, clear, and actionable. For an example, instead of sharing your presentation needs at work or for work, radical candor would sound like this.
I know how hard you worked on that presentation, and I appreciate your commitment to improving your public speaking skills. The content was strong though.
I think spending more time on delivery and engaging the audience will take it to the next level. Let's work on that together for your next presentation.
Notice how this feedback leads with care and affirmation. We're anchoring the fact that, hey, listen, I thought it was good.
It offers specific critique and ends with commitment to problem solving together. That's the magic formula for building trust through radical candor.
Of course, this takes practice, empathy, and deep knowledge of your people. You need to understand how they like to

receive feedback, what their goals are, and how you can support their development. But when you

get it right, radical candor is a game changer for cultivating trust and driving results.

Number four, keep your commitments.

This one may sound obvious, but it's worth underlining because it's so foundational to trust.

As leaders, people are watching our actions much more closely than our words.

They're observing whether we follow through on what we say we'll do, whether we we will show up when it matters and whether our behaviors align with our espoused values. Every time we keep a commitment, however small, we make a deposit into the trust bank.
And every time we drop the ball or say one thing and do another, we make a costly withdrawal. This is especially important when it comes to the commitments we make to our people.
Things like career development, conversations, securing resources they need to succeed, or giving tough feedback. These are the moments that matter most for building trust and showing that we have our people's backs.
So we need to be intentional about the commitments we make, communicate expectations clearly, and move heaven and earth to deliver on our word. And on a rare occasion, when we can't keep a commitment, we need to own it quickly, apologize sincerely, and make it right.
A simple practice that I found helpful is keeping a running list of commitments I've made to my team members and reviewing it daily to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. Also make sure to circle back and close and close the loop, even on small things so they know I haven't forgotten or deprioritize them.
These tiny moments of promise keeping are building blocks of trust over time. Number five, show, don't just tell.
Finally, trust and strong relationships are built in the everyday moments when we show up for our people in tangible ways. It's not just about the grand gestures or inspiring speeches.
It's about the small acts of support, the work we put in behind the scenes, the ways we make people feel seen and valued. These are the things that demonstrate our leadership, not just declare it.
So what does this look like in practice? It's things like rolling up our sleeves to help out with a difficult project, advocating for our team's needs and removing obstacles in their way, celebrating wins and milestones, big and small, having our people's back in tough conversations with stakeholders, investing in their learning and development and stretching them with new opportunities, checking in during challenging times and lightening their load when needed, giving credit and deflecting blame, bringing our full selves to interactions and creating space for authenticity, assuming positive intent and extending grace when mistakes happen. This kind of leadership in action is what earns deep trust and loyalty over time.
It shows our people that we're truly in the trenches with

them, committed to their success and well-being. So as you're working to build trust, don't just

focus on what you're saying. Focus on what you're doing every single day to show up for your people

Thank you. to build trust, don't just focus on what you're saying.
Focus on what you're doing every single day to show up for your people and make them feel valued. Building trust and strong relationships take time.
Consistency and genuine care. It's not something we can just check off the to-do list or accomplish through a short-term initiative.
It's an ongoing commitment in a daily practice, but it's also the most important work we do as leaders. Because when we get it right, oh my goodness, when we create an environment of deep trust, excuse me, psychological safety and human connection, that's when the magic happens.
That's when people bring their full selves and talents to the table, take smart risks, and accomplish incredible things together. So as you go forward from this episode, I encourage you to reflect on the level of trust in depth of relationships of your own team.
Where are you strong? Where do you have room to grow? Pick one practice to lean into more intentionally. Maybe it's leading with vulnerability or communicating with radical candor.
Start small, be consistent, and watch how it transforms the dynamics and the performance of your team. And if you're not yet in a formal leadership role, remember that trust building isn't just for people with positional authority.
We can all cultivate a people first mindset and invest in strong relationships with our peers, our bosses, and anyone we seek to influence and collaborate with. We can all show up with more empathy, transparency, and personal responsibility in our interactions.
Trust and connection is everyone's job, regardless of your title. That's what People First Leadership is about, creating workplaces where trust, care, and collaborations thrive.
It's about seeing and valuing people as human beings, not just human capital. And it's about tapping into multiplying power of relationships to bring out the best in ourselves and each other.
So keep building those bonds of trust. Keep investing in those moments of human connection.
Keep showing up for your people with empathy and consistency because that is the heart of leadership. That's how we create teams and cultures where everyone can belong, contribute and accomplish extraordinary things together.
Thanks so much for joining me on this exploration of trust and relationships. I hope you found it valuable and actionable.
And as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, your stories, experiences on this topic. Drop me a line on social, find me on our websites.
And if you haven't already, be sure to share this podcast. Give a five-star review if you believe that it's five-star.
Leave a comment so that when people see this podcast, it rises to the ranks because of the stars and they see your comments and they see how impactful and how intentional we are to developing leaders. I look forward to continuing this conversation and learning together.
Until next time, keep leading heart keep putting your people first the world needs more leaders like you and lastly if you have not already went and received it go to amazon look up people first results second by dr jake taylor jacobs and go and get you a copy of our newest book people first First, Result Second, because I'm going through and I'm giving you my outside words on the chapters that I've written in this book, People First, Result Second. I'm continuing the conversation that a long book would just be too much.
And I hope that there's a lot of value that you're receiving for our conversations so that you can go and change not only your world, not only your organization or your company that you work with or for, but also the family.

And when you look at yourself in the mirror, I want you to look at a leader, somebody who is striving to impact the world and change the dynamics of which people see them.

This is Dr. Jake Taylor Jacobs, and this was Bread to Lead.
Peace!