The Importance of Trusting Your Team Members

Before deciding to embark on the fascinating yet demanding path of entrepreneurship, I had the good fortune and privilege of working in several large companies and research institutions. During those years, starting out as a junior employee and gradually working my way up to managerial responsibilities, I came to deeply understand the value of feeling the company as one’s own—almost as if it were an integral part of oneself.

Working in structured environments, organized into departments with specific functions and responsibilities, taught me the profound meaning of collaboration and communication. Each department, led by capable managers, interacts with the executive team, which in turn communicates with the top-level administration or the CEO to define shared and common strategies. This dynamic creates a vital network, where every node is essential and every decision is the result of shared input and constructive dialogue.

When I was later entrusted with the responsibility of leading departments, I quickly realized that delegation did not simply mean distributing tasks. On the contrary, delegation is a true act of trust—a powerful acknowledgment of each person’s skills, abilities, and, above all, potential.
Entrusting someone with a project or task means saying to them implicitly—and in my case, also explicitly: “I believe in you, I believe in your ability to handle this responsibility with competence, passion, and enthusiasm.”
This statement, often silent and non-verbal, has a deep and lasting impact on the self-esteem, motivation, and sense of belonging to the team experienced by team members.

Personally, I’ve never liked giving orders in an authoritarian tone. I don’t believe that authority is built by imposing—it is earned by listening, understanding, and involving others.
My preliminary meetings, especially during the crucial early stages of new projects, are known for being particularly long and detailed. I devote time and attention to every single contribution because I’m convinced that it’s precisely in those hours of intense dialogue that brilliant ideas and innovative solutions emerge—born from authentic and sincere collaboration. The time invested in this way is never wasted; on the contrary, it represents the best guarantee for the project’s future success.

It is essential to humbly accept that none of us holds the absolute truth, and that none of us is omniscient. Valuing a colleague’s idea and openly acknowledging the merit of someone who proposes better solutions than our own demonstrates maturity, respect, and true leadership. A Leader (note the capital L), unlike a boss (lowercase b), is someone who not only guides the group technically, but above all inspires it, provides emotional support, and fosters unity—without putting on airs of superiority simply because of their title on the company’s organizational chart. A Leader must listen, understand, support, and always explain the reasoning behind every decision, openly sharing their motivations and strategies.

I have never made a decision without explaining to my team the logical and emotional reasoning that led me to that choice. Openly sharing the thought process behind decisions is never a waste of time; on the contrary, it is a valuable investment in transparency and mutual trust. In this way, team members feel involved, respected, and part of a common goal, clearly perceiving that their contribution is essential to collective success.

Believing in and trusting the people who work alongside you is certainly not an easy path and is often accompanied by risks. Trusting means being open to the possibility of mistakes and unforeseen events, but in the long run, this investment yields enormous benefits. A team that enjoys trust and autonomy is a resilient, dynamic team—inclined toward innovation and ready to face any kind of challenge with determination, confidence, and harmony. Moreover, people who feel appreciated and valued remain loyal to the company, contributing with passion and dedication to its growth. It is an exceptional way to retain talent.

Of course, misunderstandings can happen—who hasn’t experienced them in the workplace? What matters is being open to dialogue and resolving them promptly, before they turn, over time, into sources of conflict between colleagues. Such tensions not only fail to contribute to the success of the project but can also generate discontent within the team.

Trust is not an abstract concept or a mere motivational slogan—I’m not joking, and I firmly believe what I’m saying. Trust is a true operational philosophy, the emotional and professional glue that binds the team together—one of the fundamental and indispensable pillars for building a successful, solid, and lasting future.

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