The Marble Jar Theory: What Dr Brené Brown Teaches Us About Trust in Leadership

In leadership circles, trust is often spoken about as though it’s a single, dramatic event — earned through big gestures, major decisions, or heroic actions. But Dr Brené Brown offers a different and far more practical perspective: trust is built in small moments, through what she calls the Marble Jar Theory.

The concept originates from a simple classroom tradition. When children made kind, responsible, or constructive choices, the teacher added a marble to the jar. When the opposite occurred, a marble was removed. Over time the jar reflected not one defining moment, but the cumulative effect of many small interactions.

In leadership, this metaphor is powerful. It suggests that trust is neither automatic nor owed — it is earned through consistent, meaningful behaviours, one “marble” at a time.

Why the Marble Jar Theory Matters for Leaders?

1. Leadership is built on micro-behaviours, not macro-statements.

Leaders often invest energy into defining values, delivering strategic updates, and shaping culture. But team members evaluate trustworthiness through daily behaviours:

• Following up when you say you will

• Providing clarity instead of ambiguity

• Being present in conversations

• Owning mistakes quickly

• Treating everyone with respect, regardless of position

These small acts become your marbles. Over time, they form the emotional bank account people rely on — especially when you need to make tough decisions.

2. Trust is directional: you add to the jar or you remove from it.

As leaders, we sometimes underestimate how quickly momentum can shift. A single broken promise may remove more marbles than a single good deed can add.

Examples of “marble removals” include:

• Overcommitting and under-delivering

• Failing to communicate during uncertainty

• Not protecting confidentiality

• Ignoring feedback

• Playing favourites

Leaders don’t need perfection — they need awareness. When trust is damaged, honest acknowledgement and visible repair are essential steps to start filling the jar again.

3. Consistency is a leader’s greatest currency.

Trust isn’t built through intensity; it’s built through consistency.Even small positive interactions — done reliably — have compounding effect:

• Weekly check-ins

• Timely reviews

• Calm responses in stressful moments

• Transparent communication

• Predictable decision-making

A marble jar grows slowly, and that’s the point. The pace reinforces reliability.

4. Healthy boundaries are part of trust.

Dr Brown emphasises that trust isn’t built by saying “yes” to everything. Boundaries are a form of clarity, and clarity is kindness.

Leaders who set clear expectations, define scope, and communicate limitations actually add marbles to the jar because the team knows where they stand. Ambiguity creates anxiety; clarity fosters trust.

5. During disruption, people lean on the jar you’ve built.

When times become difficult — restructuring, fast growth, high workload, or crisis — people instinctively check how full or empty the jar feels.

If you’ve built trust consistently, your team will give you grace, patience, and support. If you haven’t, challenging seasons expose that quickly.

This is why the Marble Jar Theory is not a soft concept — it’s a risk-management strategy for leadership.

Putting the Marble Jar Theory into Practice:

Here are practical steps leaders can implement immediately:

✔ Audit your marbles

Ask yourself:What daily behaviours add trust? What removes it?

✔ Build rituals of reliability

Small habits — weekly updates, transparent dashboards, clear deadlines — slowly fill the jar.

✔ Honour confidentiality

Teams need to know that sensitive information is respected.

✔ Own mistakes openly

Repair is a powerful “marble-adding” behaviour.

✔ Celebrate small wins

Recognition — even brief, private acknowledgement — adds more marbles than you might realise.

The Leadership Takeaway.

The Marble Jar Theory reminds us that leadership is not defined by titles, presentations, or quarterly results. It is defined by small acts of integrity repeated over long periods.

Trust is not an event — it is an accumulation.