“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
— Ernest Hemingway
As HR Director at Aegon, I’ve experienced it many times: a new executive or a newly elected works council. The moment new faces appear at the table, a fresh dynamic emerges along with new expectations and, sometimes, a bit of tension.
The first 90 days set the tone: will this become a formal consultation relationship, or a genuine partnership?
Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust, captures it perfectly: trust isn’t just a pleasant feeling — it’s “the hidden force that accelerates everything.” Where trust grows, conversations flow more easily, decisions are made faster, and collaboration becomes more effective. Where it’s missing, everything slows down.
That’s why the first few weeks are critical. It’s the time to get to know one another, align expectations, and show that you’re reliable. When you consciously invest time and attention in this, you create the conditions for real collaboration to take root.
1. Trust comes before the agenda
It’s tempting to dive straight into files, deadlines, and consultation requests. But focusing only on content means missing the opportunity to build the relationship that makes collaboration work.
In this phase, trust grows through enough conversation, both formal and informal, openness, and small, consistent acts of reliability. Covey calls this “the speed of trust”: once people see that words and actions align, everything starts to move faster.
That begins with small things like being on time, being honest about what’s possible and what’s not, and following through on early promises or commitments.
It’s not always easy to make time for this, especially when pressing matters demand attention. Yet combining substantive progress with conscious relationship-building pays off. It lays the groundwork for cooperation that holds up under pressure.
2. Get to know each other
Once there’s room for relationship, the foundation for real understanding is laid. Building trust starts with truly seeing, understanding, and getting to know one another.
For the Works Council, that means understanding the executive’s challenges, pressures, and motivations. For the executive, it means gaining insight into what drives council members, what worries them, and what success looks like from their perspective.
Covey emphasizes that true speed in collaboration emerges when people understand each other’s intentions and when words and actions align. This is especially vital in the early phase of working together.
At one of my clients, a departing executive had built a strong, trust-based relationship with the works council. That trust proved invaluable during a major transition. HR and the council were understandably nervous about the leadership change. Yet the new executive invested time in building a relationship from day one, holding one-on-one conversations, taking time for informal contact, and sharing more information than strictly required. As a result, confidence quickly grew that executive and council could continue to work together constructively.
It’s important to realize that getting to know each other doesn’t mean you have to agree on everything. A common misconception is that a good relationship comes at the expense of critical discussion. In reality, it’s the opposite: when trust is strong, difficult conversations become easier, and better decisions follow.
Tip:
Be open about your challenges and motivations. Dare to be vulnerable, and invite the other to do the same. You’ll build a relationship strong enough to handle disagreement without losing connection.
3. Make trust tangible through clear agreements
Trust isn’t just a feeling, it also requires structure. Clear agreements about consultation, information sharing, and decision-making create calm, predictability, and mutual respect.
In organizations where this is well-organized, trust tends to grow faster. Think of a regular consultation cycle with clear rituals. For example, a recurring agenda meeting between the executive and the works council’s executive committee, set moments for sharing information (both requested and unsolicited), and clear agreements on how to collaborate during major organizational changes. Reliability becomes visible in behavior, not just intention.
Covey distinguishes between character (your integrity, intent, and openness) and competence (your clarity and consistency in action). Both are essential for earning trust. You can be entirely sincere, but without clear frameworks, collaboration will quickly become slow and frustrating.
Tip:
Don’t turn your first agreements into a list of rules, make them a practical way of working together. Agree on how you’ll share information, prepare decisions, and give feedback.
4. Build early wins together
Trust doesn’t grow from talk alone. It’s built through experience. In the first months, look consciously for small shared successes: a smooth consultation process, a well-prepared meeting, or a shared vision on communication.
Covey calls this the dividend of trust: once collaboration feels right, you can feel it everywhere. Less friction, more flow. Small wins have a big impact because they prove reliability in action, not just in words.
Use ongoing projects as practice grounds. Success in one case often has a snowball effect, it reinforces the belief that you can tackle the next challenge together.
Tip:
Celebrate those small wins deliberately. Name what worked, what helped, and what you learned. It fuels energy and confirms that the partnership is worth the effort.
5. Keep building trust
After the first 90 days, the foundation is in place, but the real challenge lies in maintaining it.
Trust isn’t a milestone; it’s a process that evolves with reality. New issues, council changes, or shifting circumstances can test the balance you’ve built. That’s when the strength of your foundation shows.
Covey reminds us that trust isn’t an event, it’s a discipline. It requires ongoing honesty, predictability, and the courage to adjust when needed.
Tip: Make joint reflection on collaboration a regular part of your biannual meetings under Article 24 of the Works Councils Act. What’s going well? What needs attention? What can we learn? That way, trust becomes not a phase, but a habit.
Six ways to build trust in the first 90 days
Open dialogue
Share expectations, working styles, and motivations with genuine attention.
Be predictable
Say what you’ll do and do what you say. Small acts often carry more weight than big words.
Make it personal
Get to know each other’s background and values. Trust grows between people, not positions.
Create shared ambition
Define what you want to achieve together for the organization.
Address discomfort
Talk about differences in style or pace, not to fix them, but to understand them.
Reflect
After 90 days, look back together. What’s working? What’s not? What deserves focus? Make reflection a habit.
Trust within the framework of the Works Councils act
The Dutch Works Councils Act (WOR) provides a clear legal framework of rights and obligations: consultation, advice, consent, information. But the law doesn’t prescribe how to do it. That’s where the power of trust lies.
- Without trust, collaboration remains formal, limited to the legal minimum.
- With trust, you fulfill the spirit of the law, influencing through dialogue rather than obligation.
The law determines that you sit at the table. Trust determines what happens once you’re there.
Final Thought
At Councilworks, we believe that strong employee participation starts with the quality of the relationship. The first 90 days are the moment to build that relationship, not just through words, but through behavior, attention, and courage.
Ultimately, effective participation isn’t about procedures or positions, but about people willing to understand and strengthen each other.
Because trust isn’t just the foundation of collaboration.
It is the collaboration.