Despite significant theoretical work over the past decade, the phenomenon of trust and the process of its development in managerial relationships remain elusive in theory and practice. This paper revisits theories that frame trust development in order to explore the development of trust in the specific social context of managerial relationships. Managerial relationships are often characterised by politics and the pursuit of hidden agendas and self‐interest. Competing perspectives and personal motivations can conspire to render even the most innocent of acts subject to scrutiny and suspicion. In these senses, high levels of trust are not commensurate with ideal conditions for managerial effectiveness. Examines the realistic possibilities for trust development set in the context of managerial relationships, and in the process of this analysis, creates a set of propositions that could inform further theory development and empirical investigation of the area.

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Whilst language is recognised as playing a key role in the shaping of organisational phenomena, the importance of managing language actively in the context of change has received less attention. The particular relevance of the active management of language in changing the mindsets that underpin models of organisational change is discussed, leading to the conclusion that language has a key role in making apparent and legitimising emerging models that challenge the conventional “top‐down” paradigm.

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Traditional approaches to the management of change are failing to produce lasting benefit and are more likely to engender demotivation and feelings of insecurity than tightly integrated and focused strategy implementation. These traditional approaches seldom take full account of the positive role of political fluency in the effective management of such change. This paper examines this political dimension for a collection of senior managers implementing change following two intensive public management development programmes. The findings show that managing political agendas was central to their success in making things happen and therefore postulates whether political awareness should be taught as a mainstream management discipline.