Coaching practices for Trust and Authenticity
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Trust and Authenticity, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I keep everything at work behind a polished, guarded front
- With new people I try to fast-forward to being close
- To smooth things over I say "sounds good," "I’m fine with it," "I understand" when none of it is actually true
- When I want people to take me seriously I tend to lead with my résumé and how much I know, and I can feel it land as bragging
- I always feel like I have to come across as the confident expert with all the answers, but it seems to put people on guard
Practices that may help
- Lower your guard to raise the intimacy score
Sharing something real about yourself makes others feel safer sharing something real with you.
The Trust Equation, Made Practical - Earn the right to deepen the relationship in stages
Trust compounds over time — start with technical credibility and expand into intimacy as it is earned.
The Trust Equation, Made Practical - Build sincerity by saying only what you mean
Only make commitments and assertions you actually believe — and retract the ones you don’t.
The Trust Triangle - The Trust Equation, Made Practical
The Trust Equation (Maister, Green, and Galford) holds that trustworthiness = (credibility + reliability + intimacy) ÷ self-orientation. The model is a practitioner framework rather than a rigorously tested theory, but it usefully names the levers — especially self-orientation, which is the single biggest trust-killer most leaders overlook. - Signal credibility without claiming it
Let your knowledge show through questions and specifics, not through declarations of expertise.
The Trust Equation, Made Practical - Use powerless communication to build trust
Ask questions and admit uncertainty rather than projecting confidence — it builds credibility with givers.
Give and Take: The Giver Advantage - Extend trust deliberately to invite it
Trust others first, in bounded ways, before they have earned every dimension — it is how trust is built.
The Trust Triangle - Demonstrate care through visible acts in the other person’s interest
Show that your interests and theirs are genuinely aligned — not only when it’s convenient.
The Trust Triangle - Be transparent about your competence limits
Name what you can do, what you can’t, and what you’ll need to learn — before you are found out.
The Trust Triangle - Build vulnerability-based trust
Teams that can’t admit weakness, mistakes, or ignorance to each other cannot genuinely collaborate.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Expertise Sharing Trust Building
Sharing something real about yourself makes others feel safer sharing something real with you.
Lower your guard to raise the intimacy score
- Competence Trust Building
Name what you can do, what you can’t, and what you’ll need to learn — before you are found out.
Be transparent about your competence limits
- Credibility And Trust
Let your knowledge show through questions and specifics, not through declarations of expertise.
Signal credibility without claiming it
- How To Build Trust In The Workplace
Trust others first, in bounded ways, before they have earned every dimension — it is how trust is built.
Extend trust deliberately to invite it
- Recognition That Builds Trust
Sharing something real about yourself makes others feel safer sharing something real with you.
- Sincerity Trust
Only make commitments and assertions you actually believe — and retract the ones you don’t.
Build sincerity by saying only what you mean
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.