Trust & Connection - The Global Leadership boosters.

Building Trust Across Cultures: The Climb of Global Leadership

The business case  

In my years leading global teams and building businesses across continents, I consistently observed that trust is the foundation of high-performing groups.

Trust streamlines communication, boosts teamwork, facilitates negotiations, and helps people show up at their best.

While there are a few universal ingredients to building trust (credibility, reliability, authenticity, and consistency), some elements vary significantly across cultures.

For global leaders, understanding and adapting to cultural trust dynamics is essential.

Years ago, I was tasked with launching and leading a subsidiary in China for a European company. Before we could even discuss serious business, I had to earn the trust of prospective partners. That meant joining long dinners, candid personal conversations, or even karaoke marathons.

Like in many cultures, in China, trust is affective— it grows from the heart, through shared experiences, emotional openness, and authentic human connections.

People needed to feel who I was before they could trust me.

By contrast, in the U.S., trust is mostly cognitive, built on factors like credentials and track records. I remember European executives being surprised by how quickly trust was extended without the need to know someone personally. Meanwhile, my American colleagues were often thrown off by their French counterparts wanting to “grab coffee” with no other agenda than “just to get to know you”!

The reality is that in many cultures, those informal, seemingly unstructured moments are how trust is developed.

As a global leader, whatever your preferred style, being fluent in both “trust languages” is a strong asset.

The tool  

The “User Manual” – A pragmatic Trust & Connection builder

One of my favorite tools to help global leaders and teams build connections and trust quickly is the User Manual. Just like any new device comes with a manual, your colleagues should have a guide on how to work best with you.

Trust grows when we understand each other—and this tool accelerates that process. It brings clarity and efficiency, especially in cross-cultural or virtual environments where assumptions can get in the way.

So, I encourage leaders to write and share their own 1-page User Manual and share it with their teams and counterparts.

The content can be adapted to your style or needs, but I recommend including:

1. Your Working preferences – Preferred communication methods, collaboration style, expected boundaries… (For example: “No calls before 9 am”, “Call me instead of messaging”, “I do my best work when I have time for reflection”)

2. Your Strengths – What are you naturally good at? What do people count on you for? You can pull this from feedback you received or previous assessments you’ve done (EQi, Hogan, MBTI, StrengthsFinder…)

3. Your core Values – What truly matters to you? What principles are non-negotiable in how you work and lead?

4. Your Passions and drivers –What gives you energy or motivates you?

   
   

I’ve seen this simple practice transform teams. It helps people connect faster, cultivate trust, and ultimately collaborate better.

The quote  

“Without trust, we don’t truly collaborate; we merely coordinate or, at best, cooperate. It is trust that transforms a group of people into a team.” — Stephen M.R. Covey

This quote summarizes my true belief and what I experienced through my own journey. Whether I was building teams in China and South Korea, launching businesses in Europe or South America, the game changer was always the trust and connection between people.

Trust is what turns good intentions into real impact. It is the glue that holds everything together.