Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012), a leadership educator and author best known for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, repeatedly emphasized “trust” as the enabling condition for personal credibility and healthy relationships. This line is commonly circulated in the context of his teachings on interpersonal effectiveness—especially the habits focused on character, communication, and cooperation (e.g., “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood”). In Covey’s framework, trust is not merely a feeling but a practical social asset built through integrity and consistent behavior; without it, communication becomes guarded and relationships become transactional rather than collaborative.

Covey frames trust as the binding agent that makes human systems work: it “glues” together families, teams, and institutions by reducing fear and defensiveness. Calling it the “most essential ingredient” in communication suggests that technique (eloquence, persuasion, clarity) is secondary to credibility and goodwill; when trust is present, people interpret messages charitably and share information more openly. As a “foundational principle,” trust is depicted as prior to and supportive of every other relational virtue—cooperation, empathy, accountability—because it creates the safety needed for honest exchange and sustained commitment.