Trust Battery

"It's through that almost back and forth, the trust battery thing that I was talking about plays in. Again, they're selling it to their peers, the engineering directors. They're selling it to the VPs. They're selling it to the broad team as well to get momentum behind it." - Brandon Chu

What It Is

The Trust Battery is a mental model for understanding and managing professional relationships. Coined at Shopify, it visualizes trust between two people as a battery with a charge level from 0-100%. Every interaction either charges or drains the battery.

When you first meet someone, your trust battery starts at around 50%. Over time, through actions—delivering on commitments, making good decisions, collaborating effectively—the battery charges up. Broken promises, poor decisions, or lack of follow-through drain it.

The battery level determines how much autonomy you're given, how easily your ideas are accepted, and how much benefit of the doubt you receive. A high trust battery means your proposals get greenlit faster. A low one means more scrutiny and oversight.

How It Works

Battery Levels:

0-25% - Low trust. Every decision requires justification and approval. Heavy oversight.
25-50% - New relationship. Still proving yourself. Ideas face skepticism.
50-75% - Working trust. Reasonable autonomy. Proposals get fair consideration.
75-100% - High trust. Significant autonomy. Benefit of the doubt on most decisions.

Charging Activities:

Delivering results on commitments
Making good decisions, especially under pressure
Being transparent about challenges early
Supporting others' success
Sharing credit generously

Draining Activities:

Missing deadlines or commitments
Making poor decisions repeatedly
Hiding problems until they explode
Taking credit for others' work
Being unreliable or inconsistent

How to Apply It

Assess your current battery levels - With each key stakeholder, honestly evaluate where you stand (0-100%). This determines what strategies you need.
Invest in low batteries first - If you have important stakeholders with low trust batteries, prioritize charging those relationships before taking on new initiatives.
Make deposits before withdrawals - Before asking for something significant (budget, headcount, scope change), ensure you've made recent deposits to the trust battery.
Understand it's individual, not collective - Your trust battery with the CEO is separate from your trust battery with your peer. Manage each relationship individually.
Don't assume it transfers - Trust built in one context (e.g., executing well) doesn't automatically transfer to another (e.g., strategic thinking). You may need to build trust in each dimension.

When to Use It

Before proposing big initiatives - Check your trust battery with decision-makers first
When onboarding somewhere new - Accept that you start at 50% and need to prove yourself
When receiving unexpected resistance - Consider whether a low trust battery explains it
When evaluating team dynamics - Use it to diagnose relationship issues
When delegating or empowering others - Match autonomy to trust battery levels

Source

Guest: Brandon Chu
Episode: "Brandon Chu on product management, writing, and Shopify's culture"
Key Discussion: (~14:58-15:29) - How trust battery enables decision-making at Shopify
YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Additional Source

Guest: Farhan Thawar
Episode: "How Shopify builds a high-intensity culture"
Key Discussion: (00:58:38 - 01:00:06) - Using trust battery strategically and starting levels
YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Farhan's additional insights:

Toby Lutke starts everyone at 50% and builds from there
Some leaders start new hires at 100% ("high charging teams") and only deplete if off-alignment
The terminology becomes shorthand for figuring out how to work with somebody
Trust battery can "recharge" through intentional IRL experiences like Shopify Summit and bursts

Related Frameworks

Kind and Candid - Builds trust through honest, caring feedback
Disagree and Commit - Demonstrates reliability even in disagreement