Four Components of Trust

Most founders think about trust as a single thing — you either trust someone or you don't. But trust is actually composed of four distinct components. Understanding which component is weak changes how you address it.

This framework comes from "The Trusted Advisor" by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford. They express it as the Trust Equation: T = (C + R + I) / S.

The four components

Credibility — Do I believe what they say? This is about expertise, accuracy, and track record. When someone says "this will ship by Friday" or "the market is moving this direction," do you believe them?

Reliability — Do they do what they say they'll do? This is about consistency and follow-through. The most reliable people on your team are the ones whose commitments you never have to worry about.

Intimacy — Do I feel safe with them? This is about emotional safety. Can you share bad news with this person? Can you admit you don't know something? Intimacy is why some conversations happen and others don't.

Self-orientation — Are they focused on themselves or on us? This is the denominator. High self-orientation — someone who's always angling for their own benefit — divides and diminishes everything else. Low self-orientation multiplies trust.

Using this to diagnose

When trust feels low with someone on your team, run through the four components:

• If it's credibility: they may need coaching, training, or to be in a different role. This is a skills problem.
• If it's reliability: they may be overcommitted, under-organized, or not clear on expectations. This is a systems problem.
• If it's intimacy: there may be a cultural or psychological safety issue. This is a relationship problem.
• If it's self-orientation: this is the hardest to fix. It's a character issue. You can coach it, but you can't install it.

The diagnosis changes the intervention. Most founders jump to "I need to fire this person" when the real issue is reliability — which is fixable — not self-orientation, which often isn't.