 If you want trustworthiness from other people, then we need to be prepared to demonstrate that quality ourselves. But how can you do that? Make lots of small commitments. Trust isn't built with one big gesture. It's built through consistency. So make lots of small commitments and show time and again that you keep your word. Don't commit to what you can't do. Of course, that only works if those commitments are achievable. If it isn't within your control, then don't commit to it. Work out what you can commit to and commit to that because one broken commitment can potentially undo a whole host of kept commitments. Explain your thought process. Something that will both help you when explaining bad news and develop trust in general is to explain your thought process. Don't just explain what you've done. Explain why you've done it. In many cases, you could feel justified in thinking, but I don't need to explain myself to anyone here. But those are the situations that really develop trust. In a complex environment where things are changing frequently and cause and effect aren't linear or easily understood, there's a thought process that's more important than the decision or the action because that's what we're looking to develop consistency around. So it's really important that we share them. Even if in hindsight, it turns out to be something that could be viewed as flawed. Indeed, having the courage to share a potentially flawed thought process is something that can actually increase trust. Which brings me on to another point.