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Elizabeth's avatar

Trust really is the foundation of a strong team. Reading this made me reflect on how, in my own career, trust had to flow in both directions — trusting the people who reported to me, and also trusting the people I reported to.

In my last role, that upward trust slowly eroded. Over time, I no longer felt confident that leadership had my back or my team’s back. And without that, it became harder for me to support and protect the people I was leading fully. The inconsistency that followed created a real weight — not just for me, but for the entire team.

Eventually, that breakdown of trust played a big role in my decision to step away from a career I once loved. Looking back, it felt meaningful that when I left, my entire team chose to leave as well.

Thank you for naming this so clearly. It shines a light on something often hard to articulate, but deeply felt in workplace environments.

Madeleine Jackson's avatar

Absolutely agree. It’s really hard when you can’t authentically support the direction a company is taking. Sometimes the only move is to get out of there- which sounds like the right call! I’m sure it really helped your team to see you make that decision too ☺️

Elizabeth's avatar

Yeah, for sure. I think it did—they felt like they could pursue other opportunities too without letting the team down as a whole. I think it’s important to follow your intuition when you start feeling misaligned with companies or projects. At the end of the day, we have to look out for ourselves.