Everyone wins when “my word is my bond” becomes woven into the fabric of your organizational culture. Accountability and trust simultaneously improve as the nooks and crannies to hide half-truths, speculation, and agendas that run counter to the company North Star become fewer and farther between.

Ever hear someone say “Trust me,” or “To Be Honest With You…?” These are phrases that some of us say out of habit and I believe we should actively work to jettison them from our vocabulary. 

When I hear someone repeat one of these phrases, the first thing that comes to mind is: “so are you lying to me the rest of the time?” My ability to trust individuals who overuse these phrases is challenged, and in a workplace where balancing trust with accountability is paramount, we don’t need to be injecting language into conversations that immediately makes us question the veracity of what our colleagues say.