Before people trust what you can do, they need to experience what it's like to work with you.

Hey, it’s Rafic.

Welcome back to Peak Performance Insider.

Joining a new team can be an interesting experience.

You walk into an environment where people already have relationships, routines, inside jokes, frustrations, and ways of doing things.

You might have years of experience. You might have been hired to lead the team. You might even have some great ideas about how things could improve.

But none of that automatically earns you trust.

People don't know you yet.

They don't know how you respond under pressure, whether you keep your word, how you treat people, or whether you'll listen when they disagree.

And while you're trying to figure everyone out, they're doing exactly the same with you.

The mistake is thinking you need to prove yourself before you've taken the time to understand the people around you.

Building trust isn't about making a great first impression or showing everyone how much you know.

It's about what people experience when they work with you.

Here's where I'd start.

📌 Today's Agenda

✅ Why trust starts with presence, not authority

✅ How to help people feel safe, seen, and understood

✅ Five practical ways to earn trust with a new team

✅ What to avoid when you're trying to establish yourself

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✍️ Deep Dive: Make It About Them, Not You

When you're new, it's natural to focus on yourself.

• Am I making a good impression?
• Do people respect me?
• Am I demonstrating enough value?
• Do they think I know what I'm doing?

But those questions can lead you in the wrong direction.

You might start talking more than listening, making changes before understanding the situation, or trying too hard to demonstrate your experience.

Meanwhile, the people around you are asking different questions.

• Can I approach this person?
• Will they listen?
• Can I count on them?
• Will they treat me fairly?
• Do they care about what matters to us?

Trust begins when you stop trying to convince people of your value and start showing them that they matter.

Here are five ways to do that.

1. Be Present Before Trying to Be Impressive

You can't build relationships with people who barely see you.

If you're leading a team, that means spending time where the work happens.

Walk the floor. Talk to people. Learn their names. Understand what their day looks like.

Don't limit your interactions to meetings, reports, or conversations when something has gone wrong.

And when you're speaking with someone, actually be there.

Put your phone away.

Don't interrupt halfway through their explanation.

Don't rush to give advice before they've finished talking.

Ask questions and pay attention to the answers.

If you're joining as a colleague, the principle is the same. Make an effort to connect with people, participate, and understand how the team works.

Being present isn't about making sure everyone sees you.

It's about making sure the people around you feel seen.

2. Read the Room Before Making Changes

Every team has a history.

There are reasons things are done a certain way, even when those reasons aren't immediately obvious.

Maybe a process exists because of a problem that happened years ago.

Maybe the team has experienced several leadership changes.

Maybe people are frustrated because they've raised the same concerns repeatedly without seeing anything change.

If you arrive and immediately start telling everyone what needs fixing, you risk overlooking important context.

That doesn't mean you should accept everything as it is.

It means understanding before acting.

Ask questions like:

• What's working well that we should protect?

• What's making your job harder than it needs to be?

• What have you tried before?

• If you could change one thing, what would it be?

And listen without feeling the need to respond to every answer.

Your first responsibility isn't to have all the answers. It's to understand the situation well enough to ask better questions.

3. Create Safety Before Expecting Openness

People don't automatically feel comfortable speaking honestly with someone they barely know.

Especially if that person has authority over them.

They may agree with you in meetings but share their real concerns afterward.

They may hesitate to admit mistakes.

They may avoid asking questions because they don't want to appear inexperienced.

This is where psychological safety matters.

People need to know they can raise concerns, ask for help, and disagree respectfully without being embarrassed or punished for speaking up.

You build that through your response to everyday situations.

When someone brings you bad news, do you immediately look for someone to blame?

When someone disagrees, do you become defensive?

When someone makes a mistake, do you try to understand what happened before deciding what needs to change?

You don't need to agree with everyone.

And creating safety doesn't mean avoiding accountability.

It means people can trust that they'll be treated fairly, even when the conversation is uncomfortable.

4. Lead From the Front—or Be the Teammate Others Can Count On

People pay attention to what you do more than what you say.

If you're a leader, you can't expect standards from your team that you're unwilling to demonstrate yourself.

If punctuality matters, be punctual.

If safety matters, follow the rules yourself.

If teamwork matters, be willing to help when things get difficult.

And if you make a mistake, own it.

Leading from the front doesn't mean doing everyone's job or constantly stepping in to save the day.

It means showing through your actions that the expectations you set apply to you, too.

But what if you're not the leader?

The same principle applies.

Be the colleague who follows through.

Share information instead of keeping it to yourself.

Offer help when someone needs it.

Give credit where it's due.

Take responsibility for your part when something goes wrong.

You don't need a leadership title to contribute to an environment where people trust one another.

Be the kind of teammate you'd want to work with.

5. Make Small Commitments—and Keep Them

One of the easiest mistakes to make when joining a new team is promising too much.

You want to show initiative.

You want people to know you're serious.

So you start making commitments.

"I'll get that fixed."

"We'll change that process."

"I'll look into it."

But every commitment creates an expectation.

And when you don't follow through, people remember.

You don't need to solve every problem in your first few weeks.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do is acknowledge a concern, explain what you can realistically do, and follow up when you said you would.

Even if the answer isn't what someone hoped for.

Trust doesn't require you to always say yes.

It requires people to believe what you say.

A small promise kept builds more trust than a big promise forgotten.

What to Avoid When You're New

There are a few behaviors that can undermine trust before you've had a chance to build it.

Trying to change everything immediately. You might be right about what needs improving, but without understanding the context, you can create unnecessary resistance.

Talking more than listening. Your experience matters, but so does the experience of the people who've been there before you.

Confusing authority with trust. A title might give you the right to make decisions. It doesn't automatically mean people believe in your judgment.

Trying too hard to be liked. Being friendly matters, but trust also requires honesty, fairness, and the willingness to make difficult decisions.

Making promises you can't keep. People don't expect you to have every answer. They do expect you to be truthful about what you can deliver.

The common thread?

Most of these mistakes happen when we're more focused on establishing ourselves than understanding the people around us.

One Question Worth Sitting With

Think about the last time you joined a new team—or someone new joined yours.

What made you feel comfortable trusting that person?

Was it their experience?

Their title?

Or was it the way they listened, treated people, followed through, and showed up when it mattered?

Now ask yourself:

What are people learning about me through their everyday interactions with me?

Because whether you're new to a team or have been there for years, you're answering that question through your actions.

🤝 Work With Me

Starting a new role, joining an established team, or stepping into a leadership position can bring a lot of pressure to prove yourself.

But building strong working relationships takes more than technical skills or experience.

Through coaching, we can explore how you're approaching a new environment, the assumptions you may be making, and how to develop the presence, communication, and judgment needed to build meaningful professional relationships.

If you're navigating a transition or taking on new responsibilities, I'd be happy to have a conversation.

Explore Coaching With Me 👉 https://www.raficosseiran.com 🚀

🎯 That's a Wrap

When you're new to a team, it's tempting to focus on making a strong impression.

But trust isn't built through one impressive moment.

It's built when people feel heard.

When they know they can speak openly.

When your actions match your words.

And when they see that you're willing to contribute rather than simply establish your position.

You don't need to walk into a new team and prove you're the most capable person in the room.

Start by understanding the people in it.

The rest will come through what you consistently do.

See you next week.

— Rafic Osseiran

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