Most founders can force commitment. Very few can turn it into trust.
When trust does not grow fast enough, leaders reach for transgression: a hard boundary, a shared ordeal, a bet nobody can quietly walk back. That compresses relational time. It can make a group real, fast.
But the ordeal is not the trust. The full sequence matters: transgress, recognize, release, and submit. Recognize what people proved about themselves. Release the bond so it belongs to the group, not to the founder. Then submit to the same container you created.
If you stop at intensity, you do not get trust. You get lock-in, or a cult.
That matters now because work no longer builds trust as a byproduct. AI and atomized work make it easier to run on pressure alone. If the leader does not end up inside the rules at the end, the organization will not trust itself. It will only trust the leader.