At the National HR Summit, senior leaders from some of the most impactful companies revealed why the smallest acts of consistency can make or break trust in your workplace
Leaders from Google, IKEA, Great Place To Work ANZ and Commonwealth Bank of Australia came together at the National HR Summit to unpack one of the biggest challenges in modern workplaces: how to build and keep trust.
Moderated by Jackie Whitehead, general manager HR for retail banking services at Commonwealth Bank, the panel brought together Donna Vacondios, director of people operations at Google, Lauren Pendergast, leadership and competence leader for Australia and New Zealand at IKEA, and Rebecca Moulynox, general manager at Great Place To Work ANZ.
Trust built in drops, lost in a moment
A central theme that emerged from the discussion was the idea that trust is created through small, consistent actions rather than grand gestures.
Moulynox likened it to filling a bucket with water: trust is built “one drop at a time” – through everyday behaviours, decisions and interactions – but can be destroyed in an instant by a single misstep that “tips the bucket over” and empties everything out.
That analogy set the tone for a conversation focused less on slogans and more on the discipline of leadership: doing what you say you will do, applying standards fairly, and following through when expectations aren’t met.
Consistency as the foundation of culture
From a practical point of view, the panellists argued that consistency of leadership is the simplest and most powerful lever HR and executives have to shape culture.
If leaders want trust, they said, it starts with showing up the same way for everyone: being predictable in how they make decisions, how they communicate, and how they support (or challenge) their teams. Inconsistent behaviour – “one rule for some, another rule for others” – quickly undermines employees’ belief that the organisation is truly fair.
The panel pointed to common fault lines, such as when high-performing teams or revenue-generating functions appear to be given more freedom, flexibility or tolerance than others. When people see that “the sales team get to do that and the finance team have to do this”, it erodes confidence that the company really stands behind its stated values.
By contrast, when standards are explicit and applied evenly, leaders send a clear message that the rules aren’t optional and that respect cuts across every role and department.
Holding people to account without losing trust
Accountability was another recurring theme. The speakers stressed that holding people to account is not the opposite of trust; it is an essential ingredient of it.
Employees watch carefully to see whether leaders actually act when behaviour crosses the line, when performance continually falls short, or when “star performers” breach cultural norms. If nothing happens, teams quickly conclude that talk of values and principles is just that, talk.
The panel framed effective accountability as:
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Being transparent about expectations from the outset
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Applying those expectations consistently across teams and levels
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Addressing issues early, rather than waiting for crisis points
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Balancing firmness with empathy and support
Handled well, they said, accountability strengthens trust because it proves that standards are real and everyone is playing by the same rules.
The HR lens: Supporting leaders to be consistent
From their vantage points at Google, IKEA, Great Place To Work and CBA, the panellists also discussed the enabling role of HR.
HR teams, they suggested, must move beyond policy-building to practice-shaping: coaching leaders on how to make consistent decisions, designing processes that reduce bias and exception-making, and using data to surface where standards are (or aren’t) being applied evenly.
This includes building leadership capability around difficult conversations, equipping managers with scripts, frameworks and decision guides, tracking patterns in promotions, performance ratings and recognition, and creating forums where leaders can challenge each other on consistency.
Small actions, long memories
Throughout the session, the message was clear: employees remember how leaders behave in the moments that matter – restructures, promotions, flexible work requests, performance issues – and they compare those experiences across teams and time.
Because trust is “built in drops”, those moments accumulate. Leaders who show consistency in how they treat people, how they enforce standards and how they communicate decisions gradually fill the bucket. Those who don’t risk tipping it over with a single action.
For HR professionals and business leaders alike, the takeaway from the National HR Summit panel was straightforward but demanding: if you want a high-trust culture, start with the basics. Be consistent. Set clear standards. Apply them fairly. And remember that every decision is another drop in – or out of – the bucket.
