Seeing Your People Clearly: The Foundation of Trust

​By Ashlee Jensen, Altum Coaching Services
 
In the previous article in this series, we explored the importance of creating space before responding. When we intentionally create space, we move from reacting to responding while fully present. We become more aware of what’s happening around us and within us.
 
That awareness doesn’t stop with us. It changes how we see the people we lead.

​In home care, leaders spend much of their day solving problems, responding to staffing challenges, navigating compliance, and keeping operations moving. Those responsibilities matter. Yet somewhere along the way, it becomes easy to see the work instead of the people doing it.

I’ve noticed that leadership begins to shift when we intentionally create space to become curious:

• Curious about what an employee is experiencing
• Curious about what motivates them
• Curious about what challenges they may be navigating
• Curious about the strengths they bring that may not be fully recognized

Curiosity is often the first signal that another person has been truly seen. It’s surprisingly easy to lose this in the pace of the day.
 
When people feel truly seen, conversations change and trust begins to grow. Leaders gain a deeper understanding of how to support each individual in a way that aligns with who they are, not simply the role they perform.
 
Trust Signals Trust
Trust is often discussed as something employees should have in their leaders. Equally important is the trust leaders communicate to their employees.
 
Every interaction communicates what we believe about another person — their abilities, judgment, perspective, and potential.
 
When leaders invite input, ask thoughtful questions, delegate meaningful responsibility, and coach rather than solve, they communicate a powerful message: “I trust your judgment.”
 
Conversely, when leaders consistently second-guess decisions, take work back, provide answers before employees have an opportunity to think, or require approval for every step, they may unintentionally deliver a different message: “I don’t trust your judgment, and neither should you.”
 
As the parent of a teenage daughter, I’ve been reminded of this lesson in an unexpected way. Like many parents, my instinct is to step in, offer advice, advocate on her behalf, or help her navigate the complexities of high school and adolescence. I’m often tempted to show her how I would approach the situation.
 
I’ve been practicing something different. I’ve been intentionally creating space.
 
Rather than immediately offering answers or anecdotes, I’ve practiced asking questions, listening more, and allowing her to work through challenges in her own way.

I’ve discovered that she often already knows more than I realize. When I slow down enough to ask questions instead of offering answers, she doesn’t simply solve the problem — she finds her own way through it. I’ve watched her advocate for herself, express her perspective, and navigate difficult situations with growing confidence. By intentionally stepping back, I’ve communicated something words alone never could: “I trust you.”
 
Watching her reminded me that confidence rarely develops because someone continually steps in with the answer. More often, it grows because someone consistently creates the space for others to discover the answer and trust themselves in the process. Over time, I’ve watched her trust herself more and more.
 
Leadership often works the same way. When we consistently communicate trust in another person’s judgment, perspective, and ability to navigate challenges, we don’t simply strengthen trust in the relationship. We create the conditions where people begin trusting themselves.
 
When leaders consistently communicate trust, employees become more willing to contribute ideas, navigate ambiguity, take ownership, and continue growing. Trust in their own judgment grows not because someone continually provides the answers, but because someone consistently communicates “I trust you to think this through.”
 
People often reconnect with trust in themselves through the trust we consistently communicate.
 
Creating Space Together
One of the most practical ways leaders communicate trust is through consistent one-on-one conversations: Not as status updates. Not simply as performance reviews. But as intentional space for leadership conversations.
 
Regularly cadenced one-on-ones create an opportunity to move beyond the checklist and into meaningful conversation. These conversations create space to exchange ideas, share two-way feedback, explore development, identify barriers, and advocate for one another’s success before they become larger challenges.
 
Perhaps most exceptionally, they create an opportunity to hear what might otherwise remain unspoken.
Rather than asking only for a weekly report, consider asking:

• What has been going well?
• Where have you felt challenged?
• What are you noticing?
• What strengths have you been able to use lately?
• What support would be most helpful right now?
• What ideas or observations haven’t had a chance to be shared?

Questions like these communicate that employees are valued above what they produce, for what they think, observe, experience, and contribute.

Seeing the Person Behind the Performance
Leadership isn’t only about directing work. It’s about helping people to reconnect with their ability to think, contribute, grow, and trust themselves. It’s about developing people.

People who feel seen are more likely to feel valued. People who feel valued are more willing to contribute. People who consistently experience trust begin trusting themselves.

Creating intentional space to truly see the people we lead may be one of the most important leadership practices we have. Before people consistently trust their own voice and experiences, they often need someone else to communicate “I trust yours.”

Creating intentional space to truly see another person may be one of the most important leadership practices we have. Because when people feel seen, trusted, and believed in, they often begin reconnecting with those same qualities within themselves. And that simple act of seeing another person clearly may be where lasting trust — and lasting leadership — begins.
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But awareness and trust are only the beginning. The next challenge is helping those moments become lasting leadership habits, and that’s where intentional development matters most.

Leadership in Home Care
This is the third in a series examining what effective leadership looks like in today's home care environment. The last post explored creating space for awareness. The next article will focus on coaching and development.

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Ashlee Jensen is the Founder of Altum Coaching Services, with 20+ years of experience in the home care industry, supporting leaders through growth and change. She believes meaningful leadership begins with awareness, deepens through alignment, and is sustained through intentional action