If You Don't Trust the People You Hire, Why Did You Hire Them?

If You Don't Trust the People You Hire, Why Did You Hire Them?

Early in my leadership career, I worked for someone who wanted to be involved in every decision.

Need to adjust the discount on a project?

"Go ask Joe."

Need approval to travel and meet with a rep?

"Go ask Joe."

Need to make an exception for a customer?

"Go ask Joe."

It didn't matter who you were or how capable you were. Every meaningful decision flowed through one person.

At the time, I thought that's just how leadership worked. Looking back, I see it differently.

It wasn't leadership. It was dependency.

The organization had become so reliant on one person that people stopped making decisions on their own. They waited. They sought approval. They became conditioned to ask permission instead of exercising judgment.

Eventually, it became one of the reasons I left the company. Not because the leader was a bad person. He cared deeply about the business. He wanted to protect the company, the customers, and the quality of the work. But somewhere along the way, protecting the business had become controlling the business.

And there's an important difference.

Leadership Begins with Trust

That experience shaped how I wanted to lead. As I moved into leadership roles of my own, I made a commitment to do things differently.

I wanted to build people, not dependencies.

That doesn't mean I believed everyone should have unlimited authority on day one.

Trust does have to be earned.

But I've always believed something that may sound a little different than what you typically hear.

Trust should also be given.

Until someone gives you a reason not to trust them, begin with the assumption that they are capable of learning, capable of making good decisions, and worthy of your confidence.

After all, if you didn't believe they had potential...Why did you hire them?

The Most Powerful Words a Leader Can Say

Years later, I was leading a Customer Success professional who came to me with a situation that required a decision.

She explained the challenge and then waited for me to tell her what to do.

Instead, I smiled and said something she wasn't expecting.

"You don't need me to make this decision."

"I trust you."

"I believe in you."

"I know you'll figure it out."

She paused, looked at me, and said something I've never forgotten.

"Thank you. No one has ever said that to me before."

Think about that for a moment. No one had ever told her they trusted her judgment. No one had ever communicated that level of confidence in her ability to solve a problem.

What she needed wasn't another answer. She needed someone to believe in her.

Trust Doesn't Mean Mistakes Won't Happen

One of the biggest misconceptions about empowerment is that people won't make mistakes.

They will.

In fact, if you're truly empowering people to make decisions, mistakes are inevitable. The question isn't whether they'll happen. The question is what kind of leader you'll become when they do.

Too often, a mistake becomes evidence that someone can't be trusted. The decision-making authority disappears. The leader takes control again.

Everyone learns the same lesson:

"Don't make decisions without approval."

I see mistakes differently.  I see them as an opportunity to coach.

When someone on my team experienced an outcome they didn't expect, I didn't begin by asking what they did wrong.

Instead, we'd have a conversation.

What outcome were you hoping to achieve?

What actually happened?

What went well?

What didn't go as planned?

What did you learn?

What would you do differently next time?

Then we'd move forward.

Because there should be a next time. If every mistake causes a leader to take decisions away, people stop making decisions altogether.

They stop thinking. They stop growing. 

And when your people stop growing, your business eventually stops growing too.

Confidence Isn't Given. It's Built.

One of the greatest gifts a leader can give someone is confidence. Not empty encouragement. Earned confidence.

The kind that comes from being trusted with responsibility, making decisions, learning from mistakes, and realizing you're capable of more than you thought.

That's how future leaders are developed. Not by protecting people from every challenge. But by walking alongside them as they grow through those challenges.

Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about helping other people develop the judgment to find their own.

The Legacy of a Leader

As leaders, we often measure ourselves by the decisions we make. I think a better measure is the decisions we no longer have to make.

When your team can solve problems without you...

When they can serve customers with confidence...

When they can navigate challenges because you've coached them instead of controlled them...

That's leadership.

The growth of your organization will never outpace the growth of your people.

If you want your business to grow, start by creating an environment where your people can.

That's one of the principles behind CORE Foundations.

Knowledge matters. Skills matter. Industry understanding matters.

But none of those things flourish without leaders who are willing to trust, empower, and coach the people they've invested in.

The goal of leadership isn't to become indispensable.

It's to leave behind people who are more confident, more capable, and better prepared because you believed in them before they fully believed in themselves.