This thesis investigates how trust is expressed, received, and sustained within leader–follower relationships in the human services sector of the Australian not-for-profit (NFP) context. The research addresses two primary questions: What do the actions of trusting leaders look like, and what do the actions of trusted followers look like, in practice? In answering these questions, the study highlights how trust shapes organisational life, particularly in its effects on decision-making, accountability, motivation, and the transmission of culture.
A qualitative methodology was employed, involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with 34 participants drawn from six leadership contexts within human service organisations in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The sample consisted of six leaders and 28 of their direct reports. This design allowed for examination of trust as a relational phenomenon, situated within existing leader–follower dyads and embedded in real organisational settings. Thematic analysis was conducted, informed by theoretical perspectives from social exchange theory and relational perspectives on leadership and followership, such as Leader–Member Exchange, with the notion of felt trust providing additional insight into the lived experience of trust within these relationships.
The findings demonstrate that trust is not a static quality to be earned or held, but a deliberate practice. Leaders signalled trust through behaviours such as delegation, openness, and personal vulnerability. Followers interpreted these signals not only as permission to act with autonomy, but as invitations to act with responsibility and care. These relational exchanges were often characterised by Professional Intimacy, a form of ethical closeness grounded in mutual understanding and a shared commitment to purpose. Rather than arising from trust, Professional Intimacy often created the conditions in which trust could emerge and deepen. It does not blur boundaries but strengthens accountability by fostering mutual understanding and reinforcing shared commitments.
The study also highlights the active role of followers in shaping organisational culture and transmitting values. Trusted followers were found to reinforce the organisation’s mission not through compliance, but through values-driven initiative and influence. The concept of felt trust, the experience of being trusted, emerged as central to shaping identity, discretionary effort, and cultural continuity.
This thesis contributes to the field by offering a situated and relational account of trust as both leadership and followership practice. It demonstrates that trust is not only a condition that enables leadership but also a practice through which leadership is exercised, visible in actions such as delegation, openness, and relational engagement. In parallel, it shows that followership, when grounded in trust and Professional Intimacy, actively sustains the mission, ethical accountability, and cultural life of for-purpose organisations.