The Circles that Leaders Create: How Trust Leadership Defines Team Performance

Leaders often believe they treat everyone the same.

Every team has unseen circles of trust that shape how people connect, contribute, and grow. When only a few stand inside that circle, others remain in the shadows waiting to be included.

They share goals, delegate tasks, and measure outcomes with the same standards. Yet within every team, invisible circles form. Some people feel trusted, supported, and given opportunities. Others feel distant, excluded, or limited in how much they can contribute. This divide shapes performance, morale, and commitment more strongly than most leaders realize. 

Why These Circles Form 

Research on Leader-Member Exchange, known as LMX, shows that trust leadership naturally form different relationships with team members. The quality of those relationships defines how much trust and access people experience. 

• In the in-group, members enjoy higher levels of trust, frequent interaction, and chances to grow. 

• In the out-group, members experience limited communication, fewer opportunities, and less influence on decisions. 

  
  

The stronger the relationship, the more likely the person is to contribute beyond their basic role. The weaker the relationship, the more likely they are to do only what is required. 

Leaders often rely heavily on a few trusted people. Work gets done, but the same names are always called. Others watch from the sidelines, waiting for their chance to contribute. Over time, the gap between groups widens. The trusted become more capable because they receive opportunities, while the excluded remain stuck because they are never invited in. Performance suffers, not because of talent, but because of uneven access. 

How to Expand the Circles of Trust Leadership

Trust Leadership can shift this pattern with deliberate action: 

• Acknowledge the divide. Trust is not evenly distributed, and recognising this is the first step. 

• Increase access. Schedule regular one-on-one conversations with every member, the familiar few. 

• Distribute opportunities. Rotate responsibilities and allow different people to lead. 

• Listen deeply. Invite input from quieter voices and take their ideas seriously. 

• These actions create stronger relationships across the team. Trust expands, and so does performance. 

  
  

Expanding the circle of inclusion strengthens collaboration, spreads energy, and turns individual effort into collective success.

Picture a manager who always assigns urgent work to the same two employees. They deliver results, but others begin to disengage. The manager notices the pattern and changes approach. Responsibilities rotate. Check-ins are added for every team member. Within weeks, contributions increase. Fresh ideas surface. Energy spreads. The team begins to function as a collective, not as a pair carrying the rest. The shift happens not because of a new system, but because the leader expanded the circle of trust. 

Leadership is defined in daily interactions. The words you use, the opportunities you distribute, and the time you give shape invisible circles around you. Those circles determine who feels trusted and who feels left behind. 

If you want performance to rise, expand the circle. Build trust with every member. Create relationships that invite contribution, and you will see a team that moves together instead of apart.