Leading Without Looking: Trust as the Currency of Modern Day Work
A Guide to the Employee-Employer Relationship in an AI-Driven Age
Trust is a delicate thing—it begins as an assumption, a leap of faith between employer and employee. When someone is hired, there’s an unspoken agreement: I trust you’ll do the job with integrity and purpose; you trust I’ll provide the environment and tools you need to thrive.
Trust isn’t permanent. It isn’t set in stone on Day One. It’s more like a bond, one that’s strengthened or weakened with every interaction, every deliverable, every choice.
In remote and hyrbrid work environments, this dynamic becomes even more critical. Without the proximity of shared office spaces, where you can feel the energy of others or lean over for a quick chat, trust becomes the oxygen of the relationship. It fuels everything. So, how do we make sure the bond of trust isn’t just assumed but actively nurtured, every single day?
Trust: The Assumption at Hiring
When a new hire joins a team, trust starts as a clean slate:
- Employers trust that each person will bring their full effort, creativity, and reliability to the table
- Employees trust that the organization will be fair, transparent, and supportive in return
This mutual trust is the handshake—virtual or otherwise—that gets things started. But assumptions alone won’t hold. What happens next is where the real work begins.
The Need for Modern Work Ethics
As companies issue return-to-office mandates and struggle with hybrid work models, we’re witnessing a clash between old and new ways of thinking about work. These mandates often reflect a yearning for a more paternalistic era—a time when employers held significantly more leverage in the relationship. But that world is gone.
Today’s employees see themselves on equal footing with their employers, armed with skills, options (the gig economy), and a clear sense of their value. This shift demands a new framework for trust—one that acknowledges this evolved relationship and provides guardrails for both sides. I call this framework Modern Work Ethics.
Forging Trust Daily Through Modern Work Ethics
Modern Work Ethics isn’t just about showing up—it’s about showing up with integrity and purpose. It’s a set of principles that recognize both employers and employees as equal participants in creating value.
Rather than relying on oversight and control, it emphasizes mutual respect, clear communication, and high-character behavior from all parties.
Trust may start as an assumption, but it is this idea of a set of Modern Work Ethics, or standards, that forge the bond of trust into something enduring. These principles include:
- Communication: Be clear, consistent, and human. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Ambiguity, silence, or unresponsiveness erode trust faster than anything else.
- Accountability: Own your role. Do what you said you’d do when you said you’d do it. And when you stumble, admit it, fix it, and move forward.
- Boundaries: Respect the line between personal and professional. Trust is strengthened when people feel seen as whole humans, not just workers.
- Recognition: Celebrate wins—big and small. Nothing tightens the bond like a genuine “thank you” or acknowledgment of effort.
Each of these is a moment of choice. Choose wisely, and the bond gets stronger. Choose poorly, and it weakens, one interaction at a time.
Modern Work Ethics: The Guideposts for Trust
Remote and hybrid work environments demand this new set of principles to ground the employee-employer relationship. These aren’t just lofty ideals; they’re practical actions that remind us to lead with integrity and humility, and to be of high character.
- Trust Is Earned, Not Monitored: Micromanaging isn’t leadership. Measure outcomes, not hours. Trust your team to do what they were hired to do.
- Clarity Over Assumption: Define expectations, roles, and goals clearly. Ambiguity breeds resentment. If you are unclear, ask for clarity.
- Flexibility with Accountability: Remote work is about freedom, but freedom without discipline falls apart. Silence and absence erode trust faster than anything else.
- Human First, Worker Second: Acknowledge that life happens—kids interrupt meetings, tech fails, and bad days exist. Grace builds trust faster than perfection.
- Mutual Investment: Trust is reciprocal. Employees and employers alike must invest in making the relationship work.
Trust as the Foundation for Modern Work
Trust is fragile, but it’s also resilient. When you nurture it—through honesty, kindness, and consistency—it grows into something unshakable. That’s what makes modern work possible. Without trust, the whole system collapses. There is nothing more important that I focus on with my team. If there were a “trust score” being calculated after every interaction, I’m constantly working to keep in the optimal performance zone.
This isn’t about getting work done.
It’s about creating a relationship where both sides feel valued and respected- rather than it being considered a paternalistic relationship, the mindset needs to shift to: friendship.
Where the work, the help we offer, is meaningful because the connection is real. Where care and compassion for each other takes hold.
Closing Thought
Trust isn’t a given, and it isn’t static. It’s alive—built, strengthened, or weakened with every action. And if we care about the people on the other side of the Zoom call or Slack message (or in the office), we’ll take the time to forge it tighter, day after day.
That’s a bond worth building, possibly even mandating.
About the Author: Jeremy Victor is the Chief Customer Officer at Noom, author and host of the Business @ the Speed of AI newsletter and podcast. He’s also the creator of The More Effect, a framework for unlocking human potential in the age of AI. With over two decades of experience in technology and leadership, he brings a unique perspective on the future of work, combining insights from his corporate leadership with lessons learned from coaching Gen Z athletes.
Call to Action – If you’re interested in joining this conversation, I encourage you to drop me an email at [email protected] or sign up for my newsletter Business @ the Speed of AI to explore these ideas further.
Did you know?
It will take 48 years for the representation of white women and women of color in senior leadership to reflect their share of the U.S. population.
#PARITYNOW is my personal mission to close the gender leadership and pay gap, fix the broken rung (the first critical step on the corporate ladder that women often miss), and create equal opportunities in leadership, work, and life. I’m committed to raising awareness and driving change for true gender parity across all industries.
This cause was born realizing my daughters will be 68 and 64 when true parity is achieved. Why aren’t more dads outraged by this? Right? Is it blind bias? I don’t know, whatever the answer it, I’m making it my mission to fix this. Will you join me?
Achievement knows no color. — Abraham Lincoln
Achievement knows no gender. — Jeremy Victor
You have to agree with this following statement, if not, I’m ready for the debate. It is time for change.
There is literally no difference, based on gender or race, in anyone’s ability to perform a task, make a decision, or lead in the modern workplace.