Many companies ask themselves the same question:
Where do we lose the power to bring our targeted performance to the ground and to our customers? Why do other companies seem to be doing better and why do some teams deliver above-average performance – while others work side by side without any visible effect despite their professional excellence?

The answer is rarely to be found in strategy papers or processes. It lies deeper: in commitment, relationships and trust.

If companies today expect performance, motivation and the assumption of responsibility, it is no longer enough to formulate goals and create structures.

In the company, you enter the deal at the point of performance, because for you, performance is the basis on which the collaboration is built. Period. But you forget:

“Without trust there is no performance and without connection there is no trust.”

People need to feel connected, be able to trust and experience psychological security. Only then will they be willing to perform – and take responsibility as a matter of course.

This logic describes the trust-based performance chain. It reveals the building blocks that need to be in place in companies to ensure that performance is not forced, but is created with conviction and energy.

1. Bindung & Beziehung – das Fundament

No power without a connection.

People only really get involved where they feel they belong. Companies often underestimate the extent to which the quality of relationships – not just tasks and roles – forms the basis for commitment.

Examples from practice:

• According to the Gallup study, teams with a high level of emotional attachment are 21% more productive.
• Lack of commitment is one of the top reasons for resignations – far ahead of salary issues.

What this means is that companies should not just rely on the “we-feeling” in communication, but should systematically ask and examine how sustainable bonds actually are.

Questions for reflection that you should consider in your employee survey:

• When was the last time I experienced that colleagues supported me – even without a formal occasion?
• Where do I feel emotional closeness in the company – and where do I feel distance?
• Do I experience that diversity and belonging are supported emotionally – not just emphasized communicatively?

2. Vertrauen & psychologische Sicherheit – der Nährboden für Wachstum

Commitment alone is not enough. For people to get involved, they need a climate in which they can speak without fear, make mistakes and express doubts.

The research is clear:

• Amy Edmondson (Harvard) showed that teams with high psychological safety have a 12% higher success rate.
• Google’s “Project Aristotle” identified psychological safety as the most important factor for successful teams – even before intelligence or specialist knowledge.

What this means: Trust is not “nice to have”, but a measurable performance factor. Companies need to know: Where do people feel safe – and where not?

Questions for reflection that you should ask your employees:

• In which situations was I last able to express doubts – without embarrassment or rejection?
• Where has my manager openly admitted mistakes – and thus strengthened trust?
• Are there places where feedback and new ideas are welcome – even if they are uncomfortable?

3. Leistungsbereitschaft & -fähigkeit – Kraft aus Beziehung und Vertrauen

Performance does not occur in a vacuum.
People only go beyond what is expected when they are sure that their efforts will be seen, recognized and supported.

Psychological safety creates the space for:

• Creativity: People express ideas that would otherwise remain unspoken.
• Ability to learn: mistakes are not hidden, but used for growth.
• Commitment: Employees invest energy because they feel a sense of purpose and support.
• Empowerment: Employees support each other because they feel the connection.

Studies (e.g. Haufe 2023) show: Companies with psychologically secure teams record up to 27% less fluctuation and significantly higher innovation rates.

You can also use questions for reflection here:

• When was the last time I experienced that I performed above and beyond what was expected – because I felt safe?
• What motivates me in the team: clear goals, recognition, purpose – or mere presence?
• How strongly does the emotional climate (support vs. control) influence my willingness to take responsibility?

4. Verantwortung – das sichtbare Ergebnis einer vertrauensbasierten Kultur

At the end of the performance chain is responsibility – not as a requirement, but as a natural consequence.

What is important is that responsibility is not created through pressure or specifications, but through a combination of trust, clarity, room for maneuver and feedback.

Companies that create these conditions experience that employees:

• Make conscious decisions,
• stand behind their actions,
• and live responsibility visibly even in difficult phases.

Questions for reflection, this time your managers are asked to take a closer look:

• Where do I see examples of people surpassing themselves – because they felt safe and included?
• In which areas does responsibility live – consciously and visibly?
• As a manager, do I myself set an example in terms of responsibility?

Fazit: Ohne Vertrauen keine Leistung, ohne Verbindung kein Vertrauen

The trust-based service chain makes things visible:

• Bonding and relationships are the foundation.
• Trust and psychological security are the breeding ground.
• Only then do willingness and ability to perform arise.
• Responsibility is the result – and at the same time the touchstone of a strong corporate culture.

Without emotional connection, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no psychological security. Without psychological security, motivation remains abstract. And without a willingness to perform, there is no real assumption of responsibility.

The trust-based performance chain describes this causal relationship:
Commitment → Trust → Performance → Responsibility

Companies that take this chain seriously not only create a “friendly climate”. They build a culture in which people work together instead of side by side – and in which performance is not forced, but is carried with joy and responsibility.

Wie Better linked Sie unterstützt

We make this chain visible – through targeted surveys, workshops and dialog formats that focus on relationships, emotional quality and psychological safety. Together, we identify barriers and open up spaces in which responsibility is not demanded, but lived.