Minda Harts shares why trust is the workplace currency that fuels retention, performance, and long-term career success.
You’ve hit all your deadlines. You’re the “rockstar” of the team. But that promotion? Still out of reach. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone — and you’re not imagining it.
According to bestselling author and workplace equity expert Minda Harts, the missing ingredient isn’t effort, talent, or even visibility. It’s trust. She joined Jean Chatzky this week on the HerMoney Podcast to talk about why trust is the key to feeling valued, getting promoted at work, and even building long-term wealth.
The High Cost of Low Trust
Jean Chatzky: So much of this show is about women earning more and negotiating better, building wealth by investing, making good choices. How does broken trust in the workplace cost us money over the short term and the long term?
Minda Harts: Oh man, in so many ways, I didn’t realize how important trust is as a currency. And that’s going to make me wanna stay at a company a little bit longer. I left my last company right before I hit tenure. I tried to make it as long as I possibly could to get vested in that company, but it was hard because the trust was hanging on by a thread, and I had to choose my sanity and well-being and leave before I could benefit from that.
It costs us so much when trust is not a two-way street. In our personal lives, in our professional lives, we want trust. And so why wouldn’t we want that at a place we’re going to spend 90,000 hours of our lives? And that currency is important because it’s tied to our well-being and our productivity, and our livelihood essentially.
Why Building Trust in the Workplace Matters — Now More Than Ever
Jean Chatzky: Why do you think that this moment is so crucial for building trust in the workplace, and why write this book now?
Minda Harts: Trust is a global language. People in Tokyo want trust. People in North Dakota want trust. People in Los Angeles want trust. You may not understand what it’s like for me to be a woman or a woman of color, but you do understand when that feeling of safety is there, when that feeling of trust is there, and when it’s not. That’s a universal feeling.
There’s also this expectation that you are just supposed to know what trust looks like to me. And so how would you know that I need more feedback if I never articulate that to you, and part of me not talking to you about the fact that you’re my manager and I need more feedback. I’m not trusting that you care about my career, but you don’t know that. And so we’re just having all these misunderstandings in the workplace, and it’s constantly eroding trust. And I thought maybe if we close the expectation gap and we have better conversations, we can get back to the foundation of trust. So I’m asking people to slow down, and let’s get back to the basics.
What You Can Do Today to Build Trust at Work
Jean Chatzky: If you work for a company where you feel like a lot of these things are lacking and you know you’re not in HR, maybe you’re not even in a position of power, how do you start suggesting that this becomes part of the culture? Or can you, as an employee, lead by example and just start building trust in the workplace?
Minda Harts: Yes, I believe if trust can be broken, it can also be rebuilt with the right conversation. And so let’s stop assuming people are just difficult to work with and get frustrated and they’re not responding to us, and let’s think about what trust language they might need me to speak. Or what trust language could I be speaking?
I’m really good at acknowledgement because that’s one of my trust languages. But I need to figure out if you need more demonstration, more action for me to show you and tell you, and be consistent, then if I knew that about you in our relationship, I would do that. And I think we just need to give people the opportunity to show us what good looks like when they know.
… Does more financial confidence sound good to you? We thought so! We’d love for you to join us at our two all-star hands-on financial wellness programs:
🚀 FinanceFixx – HerMoney’s 4 or 8-week Money Makeover financial coaching program that will help you get your finances on track!
📈 InvestingFixx – HerMoney’s investing club for women who are ready to learn market lingo, and grow their wealth. Your first month with us is completely free!
MORE ON HERMONEY:
More money news when you need it! Get the latest and greatest updates on all things investing, budgeting, and making money. Subscribe to the HerMoney newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe!