What signals tell you you’ve earned an executive’s trust — and what signals tell you you’ve lost it?

A clear sign that you’ve earned an executive’s trust is when they reach out to you directly. Executives can contact anyone they choose, so if they choose you, it means you’ve established credibility. The opposite is also true—when trust is lost, they’ll stop engaging with you and instead go through someone else at your company. Keep in mind, executives are busy, so slow or infrequent responses aren’t necessarily a red flag. However, if they no longer see value in the relationship, they won’t mak ...Read More

Signals You’ve Earned an Executive’s Trust They Seek Your Input: They actively ask for your advice or perspective on strategic decisions, e.g., a CEO requesting your take on a new market opportunity or a customer’s CFO consulting you on budget allocation. They Share Candid Insights: They open up about sensitive challenges or goals, like an internal leader discussing budget constraints or a customer executive sharing competitive pressures. They Act on Your Recommendations: Your suggestions are im ...Read More

Executive trust is a currency you earn over time. The best way to know how much you have is to see how they spend their two most valuable assets with you: their time and their credibility. Green Flags : Signals You've Earned Their Trust You Shift From 'Reporter' to 'Sounding Board'. You know you have their trust when the conversation changes from one-way to two-way. They stop asking just 'What did you do?' and start asking 'What do you think?' They'll proactively seek you out for your perspectiv ...Read More

It’s usually easy to tell when you’ve lost an executive’s trust: (i) when you don’t get responses despite multiple follow-ups, (ii) when you are actively ignored or bypassed and the exec goes to someone else in your peer team or directly to your leader, (iii) when discussions start feeling more transactional than strategic. That said, in my experience, it’s hard to put things in black and white with several execs. I do suggest always checking with your leader or a mentor directly if you find you ...Read More