Your Trust Map
- Cristina Stensvaag
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 23
Trust isn't something you have or don't have. It's granular — and the gaps are specific.
April 21, 2026
Originally published in One More Rep, a weekly newsletter for people managers who want to get better through practice. Subscribe here — it's free.
This week, we'll look at what you've built when it comes to your leadership and the trust of your team and see where you still have gaps.
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The Moment
So far this month, you named where you were unpredictable, you made commitments and kept them, and you went back and closed a loop you'd left open.
Those aren't three separate exercises. They're one complete picture.
The Pattern
Trust isn't something you have or don't have with a person. It's easy to think of it as binary, a characteristic of a relationship. But trust is more granular than that. Someone on your team might trust your judgment completely and your follow-through not at all. Another person might rely on your consistency but never bring you the hard things because they don't trust how you'll respond under pressure.
Why This Matters
Integration weeks aren't review weeks. They're the rep that makes the previous three reps stick. This month you collected real data: about where you're inconsistent, what you follow through on, and how you show up when a relationship needs repair. This week you'll put it together into something you can use going forward.
Rep
This Week's Practice
This week, you'll build a simple trust map for your team. Make a list of the people you lead and assess where you stand with each of them. The assessment is based on what you've observed so far this month.
Your Rep
For each person on your team, answer three questions in writing:
Where am I consistent with this person?
Where am I not?
What's one thing I could do in the next 30 days to close the most important gap?
What to Notice
Success looks like:
Your answers are behavioral, not relational ("I follow through on task commitments but go vague on career conversations," not "we have a good relationship")
At least one answer makes you slightly uncomfortable because it's accurate
The 30-day action is specific enough that you'd know whether you did it or not
Resistance looks like:
Skipping the people you have the most friction with
Writing what you wish were true instead of what the month showed you
Treating the map as a one-time exercise instead of something to revisit
It's working when:
You can look at the map and immediately know where to put your energy in May
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1: Making it too long. If you're writing more than a paragraph per person, you're processing instead of mapping. Keep it tight enough to actually use.
Mistake #2: Focusing only on gaps. The places where you're already consistent matter too. You need to know what's working so you don't accidentally erode it while you're fixing something else.
Reflect
Which relationship on your team needs the most intentional work in May, and what's one thing you've been avoiding that would have impact?
What did this month show you about your leadership that you didn't fully see before?
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Cristina Stensvaag is co-founder of LeaderReps and creator of One More Rep, a weekly practice-based leadership newsletter for people managers.