Micro Moments not Grand Gestures

Trust is the quiet results multiplier everyone remembers in December and forgets again by February. Yet research shows that the leaders and teams who thrive in uncertainty are not the ones with the best plans, they are the ones with the strongest habits of trust.

December is an especially revealing month for trust.

Year-end reviews, budget conversations, role changes and holiday stress all compress into a few weeks. In those moments leaders either default to speed, silence and “just get it done” or they choose to slow down just enough to earn and reinforce trust through clarity, transparency and care in their conversations. High trust leaders ask more and better questions, surface expectations explicitly and design interactions where people feel seen, understood and safe to speak honestly.

The compounding effect of small moves

We believe that trust is built “floor by floor” not through grand gestures but through micro moments: how you enter a room, how you respond when things go wrong, whether you treat your own promises with the same seriousness as the promises you make to others. Those floors can be designed. Leaders can intentionally practice the habit of making responsible promises by asking “What else do you trust me to do?” and they can practice trust restoration by addressing impact before offering explanations. Over time these small moves compound into a reputation for being the most trusted person in the room.

Time to get Real

Looking ahead to 2026 the invitation is clear. Rather than setting another long list of resolutions focus on one or two concrete trust habits to build with deliberate practice. For some leaders that might mean designing a high trust first impression, for others it may be learning to run high impact meetings or to repair trust quickly after a misstep.

At Habits at Work the work is simple to describe and challenging to practice: help leaders turn trust from a vague value into specific repeatable behaviors that show up in everyday conversations. The Trust Advantage Leadership Cohort exists precisely for this purpose: to give leaders a structured 12-month environment to turn trust building from an intention into a practiced advantage.