You’ve felt it. The tightness across your forehead. The subtle anxiety creeping into your chest. That internal brace when raising a concern, a topic being sidestepped, or your insight may not have been taken seriously. That is the experience of low trust. It erodes confidence, not in those around you, but sometimes in yourself. You may have worked alongside trusting teams when you felt heard, understood, and in collaborative flow. Where advocacy for patients felt shared. That’s what we are talking about, building the soil where veterinary team members can grow, personally and professionally. This article begins a six-part exploration of what it truly takes to build a purpose-driven veterinary team. Over the coming months, we will examine six essential functions: trust, courageous conversations, clarity, accountability, well-being, and shared purpose. Each function builds upon the last, but none can stand without the first. We begin with trust. Trust in vet med Patrick Lencioni, in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, reminds us the foundational dysfunction of any struggling team is the absence of trust, stating: “Trust is the foundation of real teamwork.”1 When trust is absent, teams do not fail because of incompetence. They falter because of guardedness. They hesitate to admit mistakes. They protect reputations instead of strengthening relationships. They avoid vulnerability. In veterinary medicine, that hesitation carries weight. Ours is a profession practiced at the intersection of science, emotion, and financial reality. Decisions are made quickly. Clients are grieving, hopeful, confused, and vulnerable. Teams must function cohesively under pressure. When trust is missing, the cracks widen under layered stress. Photo courtesy Rebecca Rose Long before I had language for the functions of a trusting team, I felt it. When I worked at Town and Country Animal Hospital, there was steadiness and fluidity. People asked one another for input without bracing. Doctors thanked technicians for catching subtle anesthesia changes. Technicians advocated confidently. Receptionists clarified plans without hesitation. Clients felt it as well. They trusted us—not because we were perfect—but because we were aligned. Internal trust radiated outward. At the time, I could not cite research. I only knew it in my gut. Years later, reading Lencioni and Stephen M. R. Covey gave language to what I had observed. In The Speed of Trust: “Trust is the one thing that changes everything.”2 We learned we can quantify and measure trust, like other key indicators. The economics of trust simply state it always affects two measurable outcomes: speed and cost.3 When trust goes down, speed will also go down, while cost will go up. This is a tax. When trust goes up, speed will also go up, while cost will come down. This is a dividend. In a veterinary hospital, dividends translate into clearer delegation, smoother workflows, fewer defensive conversations, and stronger client relationships. What trust is not Trust, however, is often misunderstood. Teams sometimes confuse trust with likability, or longevity, or blind agreement. Before we define what trust is, it can be helpful to name what it is not. Trust is not merely saying you care while failing to follow through. It is not showing up late and unprepared yet expecting confidence from others. It is not withholding feedback in the name of “keeping the peace.” It is not gossip disguised as concern. It is not silence when patient advocacy is required. Veterinary teams recognize the absence of trust because they have felt it. They felt hesitation before speaking up; they sensed the guarded response to feedback. They have watched decisions happen in isolation rather than collaboration. Naming what trust is not (without blame or pointing fingers, just creating the picture) allows a team to collectively acknowledge lived experience. From there, defining what it is not, we can articulate what trust is. What trust is Trust looks like showing up on time and being prepared for rounds. It is articulating your needs clearly rather than expecting others to guess. It is in sharing concerns directly with the person involved. Trust is providing feedback respectfully—and receiving it without immediate defensiveness. Being present in conversations instead of being distracted by assumptions. Lencioni emphasizes vulnerability-based trust. I see this as “buck-naked vulnerability.”2 This is the courage to admit weakness and uncertainty. In medical environments where authority gradients naturally exist, vulnerability can feel like exposure. Yet without vulnerability, teams measure their words and contributions. Trust grows when a veterinarian says, “I may be missing something—what are you seeing?” When a technician says, “I am uncomfortable with this anesthesia depth,” and is heard, trust deepens. When a client service representative shares, “I need help with this upcoming client conversation,” receiving support simply feels good. Because all veterinary team members are driven by a shared purpose in the human-animal bond, whether they articulate it or not, trust protects patient safety and client relationships by encouraging them to speak up. Client trust mirrors internal trust. Clients sense cohesion. They notice when explanations and messaging align. They observe body language, tone, and teamwork. When the team trusts one another, communication feels seamless. When trust is low, clients detect tension immediately. Internal alignment strengthens external confidence. Trust in leadership Leaders set the tone in trust. Lencioni argues leaders must go first in vulnerability.2 If leadership models are infallible, teams mirror guardedness. When leadership models curiosity and accountability, “buck-naked vulnerability,” teams mirror openness. Covey reminds us that trust grows from credibility—character and competence working together. In a veterinary hospital, leadership does not belong only to those with a title.2 It also belongs to those who quietly model reliability, follow-through, and integrity. Whether you lead by position or by presence, trust requires both who you are and how well you perform. Trust requires congruence between words and actions. In practice, trust can be observed behaviorally. Do team members admit mistakes openly? Do leaders ask for feedback? Are disagreements handled directly rather than triangulated? These indicators reveal more than a generic question of “Do we trust each other?” ever could. In Aiden’s piece, Building Trust in the Workplace,4 we can lean on the four pillars supporting a foundation to grow by: Reliability: I will show up. Trust begins when we consistently do what we say we will do. We meet the anesthesia check time. We return the call. We close the loop. Reliability creates psychological safety because teams know they are not standing alone. Empathy: I see you. In high-pressure veterinary environments, empathy softens hierarchy. It says, “Help me understand what you’re experiencing.” When we pause long enough to listen, trust deepens. Authenticity: I will be real. Vulnerability-based trust requires honesty. A veterinarian asking, “What do you recommend in taking this aggressive dog’s radiographs?” is not weakness. It is leadership. When we are transparent about uncertainty, mistakes, and learning edges, guarded walls begin to lower. Responsibility: I own my impact. Trust strengthens when we take ownership of outcomes, missteps, tone, and behavior. Responsibility says, “That one’s on me — let’s repair and move forward.” Accountability without shame builds durable teams. These pillars add structure to the foundation in terms and everyday language. How will you begin to incorporate these pillars in building trust and growing personal and professional prowess? As we launch this six-part series, remember trust is the foundation, from that platform, teams engage in courageous conversation, establish clarity of roles, embrace authentic accountability, design sustainable well-being, and share purpose. Without trust, each of those functions becomes strained or distorted. Trust is the soil where veterinary teams grow. It stabilizes, nourishes, and protects what is developing beneath the surface. Without healthy soil, roots cannot take hold; and without roots, growth is shallow. In our next column, we will explore courageous conversations, the roots of a purpose-driven veterinary team. Because when trust prepares the ground, courageous dialogue anchors culture, strengthens patient advocacy, and allows purpose to bloom. Trust the process Try this 30-day trust-building exercise. Trust becomes real when it becomes behavioral. Consider building trust one day at a time. Ask team members to read this article, then during a team meeting or rounds follow the outlined exercise. Day 1: Begin by identifying what trust is not in your hospital. Ask: What does it look like when trust is missing? What does it feel like? You may hear inconsistency, defensiveness, silence, gossip, missed deadlines, and lack of preparation. Day 2: Then flip the lens. Ask: If we inverted those experiences, what would trust look like here? Turn concerns into visible behaviors — showing up prepared, speaking openly, inviting feedback, following through, being present. Day 3: Now choose one behavior to strengthen over the next 30 days. Example: If the team selects follow-through, define it specifically. For example, we will complete assigned tasks by the agreed deadline or proactively communicate if a delay is expected. Or: We will begin each weekly meeting by reviewing commitments from the previous week. Write it down. Make it visible. Revisit it intentionally. Day 30 - Reflect: Did we improve? What supported success? What needs adjustment? Trust grows when reliability becomes predictable. Small, consistent behaviors nourish the soil. Rebecca Rose, RVT, CCC (certified career coach), has a diverse background serving the veterinary community as a credentialed team member and leader, with more than 38 years of experience. Rose has worked in and managed veterinary clinics, collaborates with industry partners, authors articles and books, and facilitates engaging team workshops. She was recently appointed to the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine as one of the first RVT members. References Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. Jossey-Bass. https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756/ Covey, S. M. R. (2006). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. Free Press. https://www.amazon.com/SPEED-TRUST-Thing-Changes-Everything/dp/1416549005/ Rose, R. (2024). Five functions of a purpose-driven veterinary team. Veterinary Practice News. https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/five-functions-of-a-purpose-driven-team/ Aiden S. Managing Director (2024). Building trust in the workplace: The four pillars of reliability, empathy, authenticity, and responsibility. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-trust-workplace-four-pillars-reliability-empathy-aidan-salvi-ivvpc/
