This simple trick can help you win your team’s trust

In 2025, less than half (48%) of U.S. employees said they trusted their senior leaders, and 40% reported distrust of their leaders and colleagues, signaling a broad erosion of workplace trust.And when you add AI to the mix, things aren’t looking good. In a 2025 YouGov survey, only 5% of Americans say they trust AI. Meanwhile, in late 2025, McKinsey found that 78% of U.S. companies report using AI in at least one business function (up from 55% just a year earlier). Put simply, we’re in an AI-accelerated trust recession.  BUILDING VULNERABILITY-BASED TRUST Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, shares that vulnerability-based trust creates confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In practice, vulnerability-based trust is when you and I feel we can say something like “I don’t know” or “I made a mistake” and know we will still be trea