Turn trust insights into shared commitments.
A structured closing activity that moves the session from individual insight to shared commitment. Each participant names one specific behaviour they will do more of to build trust and one they will do less of. These are shared with the group, making them visible and creating mutual accountability without requiring a lengthy planning process.
The activity is structured around a simple format: each person completes two sentences. 'To build more trust in this team, I will do more of...' and 'To build more trust in this team, I will do less of...' The specificity of the answer matters. Vague commitments are easy to forget. Specific behavioural commitments, the kind that someone else could observe, are the ones that tend to stick.
Commitments are shared with the whole group, which creates a moment of mutual visibility. In a team setting, these can be captured and returned to the team after the session as a reference point. In an open workshop, participants commit to sharing one action with a colleague, manager, or accountability partner within 48 hours.
The session closes with a brief reflection: given what you have heard from the group, what do you feel most confident about, and what gives you most reason for optimism about the team's ability to build trust?
Trust builds through repeated small actions, and those actions are more likely to happen when they have been spoken aloud in front of others. Building Trust Together turns personal insight from the session into specific, visible commitments that the group can hold each other to.
Frame the session as a chance to leave with something specific to do, then take people through writing two trust commitments, a share-back, and a closing reflection. Trust builds through small, repeated actions over time, so push for concrete commitments.
Frame the activity: the aim of this session is to leave with something specific to do. Remind people that the research on trust is consistent on one point, that it builds through small, repeated actions over time.
Ask people to complete both sentences in writing: to build more trust in this team, I will do more of, and to build more trust in this team, I will do less of. Prompt for specificity. Push past abstract commitments like "I'll be more transparent" towards specific ones like "I'll share the reasoning behind decisions I make that affect the team, even when I'm short on time."
Go around the room, with each person reading out their two commitments. Keep discussion out of the share-back; this part is about being heard. If the group is small, six or fewer, hear from everyone. If it is larger, invite eight to ten volunteers and capture the rest in writing. Your role is to create the conditions for people to speak honestly, and if the room feels safe enough, people will often share commitments that go beyond the surface.
Ask the group what gives them confidence that trust in this team can grow, given what they have heard, and take two or three responses. End on a forward-facing note: the work done here is a starting point, and what matters is what happens in the weeks that follow.
In a team setting, capture all the commitments and send them to people within 24 hours, and suggest the team builds in a ten-minute check-in at a future meeting to review how the commitments are landing. In an open workshop, ask each person to write the name of one person they will share their commitment with before the end of the week.
Use Building Trust Together when a session has surfaced honest insight about trust and you want it to become specific, visible behaviour. Each person names one thing they will do more of and one they will do less of, spoken aloud for mutual accountability.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
