Practice Area

Management and Leadership

Building Trust and Connection


  • Traditional Classroom: 1/2-day
  • Virtual Instructor-led: One 3-hour session or Two 90-minute sessions

Being a valued team member involves more than just growing your skills and knowledge. Building strong relationships is also a key part of team success. In this session we’ll explore how to earn — and extend — “smart” trust to contribute to a team culture of psychological safety. You’ll also learn how increasing your emotional intelligence will enhance your credibility as well as your team’s performance. The goal of this session is to enhance your ability to build empathy and leverage it to grow and sustain strong relationships at work.


Target Audience

Individuals who will benefit from this course include new and experienced managers, supervisors, team leaders, and individuals who want to strengthen their relationships and build trust and connection with others.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe an environment of psychological safety and how it informs team performance.
  • Identify the components of “the trust equation” and the interaction between them.
  • Articulate a business case for building trust.
  • Self-assess on key metrics of credibility.
  • List the 13 behaviors of high trust.
  • Explain concrete ways in which leaders can demonstrate empathy.

Course Outline

Opening Activities
  • Welcome and Introductions
  • Activity: The Key to Building Strong Relationships that Last
  • What Are You Leaving in Your Wake?
The Importance of Psychological Safety
  • Google’s Project Aristotle
Balancing the Trust Equation
  • The Trust Equation
  • Activity: Applying the Trust Equation to Stakeholder Groups
Enhancing Your Credibility Using the Speed of Trust
  • Video: “The Speed of Trust”
  • Building Trust with Stakeholders
  • Trust and Organizational Performance
  • The Four Cores of Credibility
  • Activity: Credibility Self-Assessment
  • 13 Behaviors of High Trust
  • The Importance of Being Present
Empathy as a Foundation Skill
  • Video: Dr. Brené Brown: “Empathy”
  • Empathy at Work
  • Leading with Empathy
Course Summary and Next Steps

MDV2011e Course Code


For more information on this topic, as well as how Corporate Education Group can help power your organization’s performance, contact us via email or call 1.800.288.7246 (US only) or +1.978.649.8200. You can also use our Information Request Form!


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