On a morning walk, I came across this mother deer and two fawns.

They stood quietly, watching me. I stopped. They stopped. For a few minutes, we stared at one another while I took pictures.

It was peaceful, but obviously they did not fully trust me.

I moved a little closer.

Then a little closer.

Then a little closer.

Eventually, the two fawns decided they had seen enough and disappeared into the woods.

That small moment got me thinking about one of the biggest questions in business:

Do you trust me?

Every business owner faces this question. Every employee does too.

Can I trust you to take care of the customer? Make good decisions? Tell me when something is wrong? Do the right thing when nobody is watching?

And from the employee’s side: Can I trust the owner to be honest, support me, give me a real opportunity, and stand behind me when things get difficult?

Trust is not a soft issue. It is an economic issue.

Stephen M. R. Covey explains this powerfully in The Speed of Trust. I also had the privilege of interviewing him on the Measure Success Podcast. His central idea is simple: when trust goes up, speed goes up and cost goes down.

When trust is low, everything takes longer.

People double-check, triple-check, copy more people on emails, schedule more meetings, and create more approvals. Work slows because nobody wants to decide without cover.

When trust is high, people can move.

That does not mean there are no controls, reviews, or accountability. It means you do not need five layers of approval for every small decision. You trust capable people to do the work, ask for help, and correct mistakes.

 (40 Accounting Team)

I have seen this firsthand at 40 Accounting™.

In just over one year, we grew from two full-time employees to ten. That would have been impossible without trust.

Our first employee, Nick, had already helped me start another company. He is a CPA, an experienced accountant, and someone I have known his entire life. He was literally the ring bearer in my wedding.

Our next full-time employee was my son, Zach. Then came my nephew, Ben.

Hiring family can create its own anxiety. You hope the work goes well, but you also want Thanksgiving dinner to remain comfortable.

Fortunately, Ben was extraordinary. He became a catalyst in helping us trust that we could grow beyond a family-based team and build a larger in-person workforce.

But this was not blind trust.

Each person brought relevant accounting degrees, experience, judgment, and the ability to contribute. Personal trust opened the door, but competence helped keep it open.

That brings us to another lesson from Covey: trust requires both character and competence.

Character means integrity. It means telling the truth, keeping commitments, and doing the right thing even when the easier option is tempting.

Competence means you can actually perform the work.

You need both.

A person may be honest and well-intentioned, but if they cannot do the job, trust eventually breaks down. Someone may be technically brilliant, but if they cut corners or hide problems, you cannot safely build around them.

The same is true for leaders.

At 40 Accounting, clients want us to minimize taxes, improve their financial information, and help their businesses grow. But we will not cross a line that keeps us awake at night.

We have turned down opportunities and ended client relationships. Those situations are rare, but when something does not align with our standards, we must be willing to say, “We may not be the right firm for you.”

That is part of trust too.

Covey also identifies practical trust-building behaviors. Three stand out to me.

Talk Straight

Tell people what is really happening. Avoid unnecessary spin. Be clear about expectations, performance, problems, and decisions.

Be Transparent

You cannot share everything. There are legal, privacy, and personnel boundaries. But you can be honest about how the business is doing and what challenges you face.

People usually know when something is off. Pretending everything is perfect does not create confidence. It destroys it.

Show Loyalty

That means supporting your team, especially when things get uncomfortable. We want to serve clients extraordinarily well, but I will not tolerate someone mistreating our employees or pressuring them to rush work that needs to be done correctly.

Trust does not mean avoiding hard conversations. It means having them honestly and respectfully.

The real question is not simply whether you trust your employees.

The bigger question is whether you have built a company where trustworthy people can succeed.

Have you hired for character and competence? Created clear expectations? Modeled the behavior you expect? Give people room to grow, decide, and occasionally make mistakes?

Covey said leaders must go first.

If you want honesty, model honesty. If you want loyalty, show loyalty. If you want accountability, accept accountability.

Your business will rarely move faster than the level of trust inside it.

As you head into next week, ask yourself:

Where is low trust slowing us down?

And what can I do, as the leader, to go first?