A programme borrows trust before it earns any.
Participants give it the benefit of the doubt because of who runs it and who signed it off.
Companion to the white paper · Learning programmes
Most programmes start on borrowed trust. The first week back is where it gets spent.
Participants arrive trusting the provider's name, L&D's track record and the sponsor's sign-off. Then they test it at work. This page turns the paper into three changes you can make to a programme you already run.
The idea
The idea in three lines
Work is where the borrowing is tested.
If a participant tries the new behaviour and their manager takes the decision back, they learn that the promise didn't hold.
Design for that moment first.
It matters more than the session. Agree the real task, the authority and the review date before anyone attends.
Trust Leader definition Trust is someone's confidence in you with something they care about.
Who the participant relies on
Five questions, aimed at named people
In the paper, each question is pointed at one person: the programme lead, the line manager, the facilitator or the sponsor. Each answers from the participant's side.
The five Trust Questions
The five Trust Questions
- 01
Do they believe what I say?
- 02
Do they believe I'll do what I said?
- 03
Do they believe I can handle what's needed?
- 04
Do they feel I really understand them?
- 05
Do they believe I act with their interests in mind?
Try it in a programme you already run
Three changes to make
Each takes under 15 minutes. None needs software. Each has a trigger, something to say or ask, and a count so you can see whether it is happening.
1 Hold the manager conversation
When: before the participant attends.
"The task I'll practise on is ___. I can decide ___ without further approval. We'll review what happened on ___."
Check: count the conversations held out of those planned, for example 11 of 14.
2 Change one evaluation question
When: at the first review after workplace practice.
"Name one occasion you used it, who it affected, and what they would say changed."
Check: count the answers that name a real occasion and a real person.
3 Ask the colleague
When: for a sample of participants, around day 30 to 60, with agreement.
"What could you decide on your own this month that you couldn't before?"
Check: count how many you asked and how many named a specific decision. Keep the answers as accounts, not scores.
Illustration · fictional data, not a client result
Try it on yourself first
The free trial is for you. Pick one of your own working relationships, choose one behaviour and practise it for real. Here it is with a fictional L&D lead and her programme sponsor.
You and the programme sponsor
Scored 1 (rarely) to 5 (consistently)
What you need from them
Her backing to run a second cohort.
What they care about
Evidence the first cohort changed anything at work.
Biggest gap
Delivery & Consistency
Your Behaviour Playlist
For the behaviour your Trust Map points to
Activity 1Done
Outcome: you say what will happen next, and by when, before the meeting ends.
Activity 27 min
Outcome: the sponsor hears about a slipped date from you first.
Activity 3Unlocks next
Reflection
How useful was this activity?
★★★★★
When you told her about the delay first, what did you notice?
"She asked what I needed rather than who was responsible."
Anything else you noticed? · Optional
One meeting. Watch whether it holds.
Who can see this?
Only meShare with my coach
Start with yourself
From yourself to your participants
Try it on your own relationship
- Map one of your own working relationships
- Choose one Behaviour Playlist and work through it yourself
- Reflect on what changed, and re-score your Trust Map after 14 days
Use it with your participants
- Assign prepared Behaviour Playlists to individuals or groups
- Each participant works through them between modules
- Their Reflections give you accounts of practice at work, not just reactions to the session
Start with one relationship of your own
Free for 28 days. Or read the full white paper: the research on transfer, the 6Ds alongside the trust lens, and a worked delegation example.
Trust Telegraph
Not ready to try it yet?
Short, practical thinking for people whose work depends on other people’s confidence.
Examples on this page are fictional. Hub screens are illustrations. Trust Leader makes no claim of demonstrated results.