Building Trust in Leadership with Andrea Wanerstrand

In today’s rapidly changing workplace, leaders are being challenged like never before to create a sense of stability and connection. But what’s the secret to building trust in leadership? In a powerful episode of The Leadership Habit podcast, host Jenn DeWall sits down with executive coach and culture strategist Andrea Wanerstrand to explore the vital role that consistency plays in trust and team performance.

Meet Andrea Wanerstrand

Andrea Wanerstrand is the founder and CEO of A3 Culture Lab and the creator of the Mindset Maven Method. With over 25 years of experience shaping leadership and culture strategies at powerhouse organizations like Microsoft and T-Mobile, Andrea has made it her mission to help leaders ditch fear-based leadership and foster high-performance, human-centered cultures.

After two decades in corporate roles, Andrea launched A3 Culture Lab to equip leaders with the tools to lead with clarity, courage, and consistency. Her coaching approach blends neuroscience, mindset mastery, and bold truth-telling to drive measurable results. When she’s not speaking or coaching executives, Andrea runs a lavender farm off the coast of Seattle—yes, really—where she distills her own essential oils and teaches meditation as part of her own journey to combat burnout and embrace balance.

How Consistency Builds Trust and Team Performance

In this insightful episode, Andrea and Jenn explore the connection between emotional intelligence, consistency, and leadership credibility. Jenn sets the tone by explaining, “Consistency truly matters to our mental health, our happiness, and our sense of engagement at work.” Andrea agrees, noting that inconsistent leaders can unintentionally create fear, confusion, and disengagement on their teams.

Andrea outlines her A3 model for consistent leadership: Authenticity, Autonomy, and Accountability. Leaders who master these three areas are better equipped to build trust and create psychological safety on their teams.

“Fear can’t build trust,” Andrea explains. “In fact, fear cannot create innovation. When we are in fight or flight, our brains literally are not flowing with the creativity that we often want from our teams.”

She encourages leaders to examine themselves and identify how fear manifests in their leadership style—through micromanagement, perfectionism, or over-functioning—and then work toward leading with more intentionality and emotional self-awareness.

Jenn adds, “So many people truly believe that they are much more aware of how they show up than what they actually are.” The problem is that most of our thoughts and behaviors are driven by subconscious patterns. Andrea explains that building trust in leadership starts with identifying your own emotional triggers and physical signals—whether it’s a clenched jaw or a tapping foot—and choosing how to respond.

A simple yet powerful question leaders can ask themselves is: “How do I want to show up for these people, and am I there right now?” That pause, Andrea says, creates the space for intentionality and emotional regulation, both of which are critical to building trust and improving team performance.

“Your mindset is your edge, and your behavior becomes your brand,” Andrea emphasizes. “It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being present.”

Jenn underscores that leaders must slow down and reflect: “The moment you don’t have enough time to simply pause and set an intention with how you want to show up… It’s going to cost you more time in the end.”

Where to Find More from Andrea Wanerstrand

• Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn
• Learn more about her coaching and programs at A3culturelab.com
• Follow her insights on leadership, neuroscience, and mindset via her blog and speaking engagements.

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