Trust is a friction-reducer. Without it,
every decision takes longer, costs more and yields less
A 2025 Gallup Study that directly tracks trust in leadership reveals
that only 19% of employees “strongly agree” that they trust the organization’s leadership.
By Kimberly Paterson, CEC
The Pew Research Center, which has been tracking trust in America for 25 years, reports that trust levels are at record lows. While declining levels in institutions aren’t news, it’s our dwindling trust in each other that’s raising concerns.
In 1972, 46% of American adults said that “most people can be trusted” compared to 34% in 2024. The younger people are, the lower the percentage; only 26% of people between 18 and 29 think that people can be trusted. A 2025 Gallup Study that directly tracks trust in leadership reveals that only 19% of employees “strongly agree” that they trust the organization’s leadership. What makes shrinking trust levels especially problematic for leaders is the link between trust and organizational performance.
Declining trust in employers is taking a toll on the work environment, and it’s a factor that leaders underestimate. The PwC 2024 Trust in Business Survey reveals that 86% of business executives think employee trust is high, compared to 67% of employees who say they highly trust their employer. This 19-point gap represents a four-point increase over 2023.
Dr. Paul J. Zak, who has devoted his research career to studying the neuroscience of trust in organizations, says, “Findings confirm that trust is a primary driver of financial and operational success. His studies show that companies in the top quartile for trust-driven innovation saw five times faster revenue growth than those in the bottom quartile.
Publicly traded companies with high-trust cultures have outperformed the market average by 19 percentage points since 2020. These organizations experienced voluntary turnover rates that were 50% lower than industry averages. Employees in high-trust environments reported 50% higher productivity and 40% less burnout than those in low-trust environments.
Addressing trust levels begins with understanding where your organization stands.
Red flags for low-trust environments
Without an intentional effort, getting an accurate read on trust in your workplace can be challenging. Most standard employee satisfaction surveys cover a broad range of topics such as engagement, role clarity, culture, compensation and management. They lack specificity on the issue of trust. If the link between trust and performance is important to you, you’ll want to develop and track your own metrics.
In the short term, a good way to get a quick read on trust is to consider these red flags:
Lack of pushback. You’re in a team meeting, and heads are nodding in agreement. You’re in a one-on-one session with a direct report. You ask for feedback on how you can improve as a manager. The employee smiles and says, “I don’t really have anything. Everything is good.”
Time-pressed managers often interpret these signals as everything is fine and move on. More often than not, silence or lack of resistance are signs that people don’t feel safe enough to speak the truth. Without trust, people avoid saying the hard things.
“Me vs. We” mindset. People are guarded in their communication. Team members prioritize their needs over the team’s. They hold onto information and use it as a form of power rather than freely sharing it across the organization. People compete more than they collaborate.
Micromanaging. This behavior sends the ultimate message that “I don’t trust you.” When managers fear letting go, they are prone to excessive monitoring and are rigid about how work gets done. Employees sense the lack of trust. They lose confidence and ownership of the work and are less willing to take initiative and make decisions. The best employees leave the organization; those who remain are minimally engaged.
Fear of failure/mistakes. Mistakes are criticized rather than viewed as learning opportunities. People fear retaliation or being judged. The fear often leads to procrastination, resistance to tackling new tasks or responsibilities, and avoidance of accountability when things go wrong.
Triangulation. Triangulation is when people avoid a direct conversation with a colleague that may be uncomfortable, or circumvent the chain of command. Rather than handling the situation directly, they look to a third party to intervene on their behalf. Behind-the-back complaints and ignoring the chain of command breed mistrust.
Managers who enable triangulation make the problem even worse. The inability to speak honestly and resolve conflicts directly is a major factor in toxic, high-stress work environments.
Playing favorites. Whether consciously or not, most leaders have favorites. Their opinions are sought more, they’re included in more conversations, and they tend to get the plum assignments. Favoritism fosters a divided team and a lack of trust.
Decision drag. Decisions take longer. People fear making mistakes and second-guess their own motives as well as those of others. They have trouble reaching closure and continually seek clarification and approval every step of the way.
Lower productivity. Work takes a back seat to managing the environment. Workers in low-trust settings are always on alert for potential threats, betrayals, or unfair treatment, which is mentally exhausting. Zak’s research shows that employees who do not trust their employers are three times more likely to report feeling tense and stressed at work, experience 40% more burnout and take significantly more sick days than employees in high-trust workplaces.
Six tactics for building trust
Trust begins at the top. Leaders set the tone for the culture. Their actions, not organizational values or strategy, communicate what’s acceptable and what behaviors are recognized and rewarded. Trust is earned over time, but these practices can help leaders jumpstart the process.
- Connect. Many leaders believe that trust stems from their competence, expertise, and the perception that they always have the answer. Research consistently shows that before people believe what you say, they need to believe in you. That belief stems from connection. While competence is critical, connection comes first. People need to know that you see them, hear them, and are attentive to their concerns before you can earn their trust.
- Be consistent. Little breeds more mistrust and anxiety than a “Jekyll and Hyde” leader. When people worry about how the leader will react, they avoid sharing information, conceal mistakes and constantly second-guess themselves and what it will take to please you.
You build trust when your expectations, priorities, how you treat team members and, most important, your temperament are consistent. The time you invest in remaining calm and under control is minimal compared to the time you’ll spend trying to recover from bad decisions, damaged relationships and the stress that your stress causes others.
- Recognize the difference between trust and harmony. Productive conflict is characteristic of high-trust work environments. Harmony, on the other hand, is often a symptom of a “go along to get along culture.” People refrain from speaking the truth or tackling sensitive issues because being liked or avoiding hurting colleagues’ feelings take precedence.
Trusted leaders understand that suppressing conflict has the opposite effect. When conflict is unresolved, it undermines relationships and the ability to work together toward a common goal. People engage in resource-sapping avoidance tactics, including ruminating excessively about crucial issues, complaining, getting angry, doing unnecessary work, and avoiding the other person altogether.
Trusted leaders surface underlying conflict and create a safe, civil environment for raising tough questions and voicing differing opinions. The more leaders model the behavior, the more comfortable employees become in managing healthy conflict.
- Align words and actions. Leaders build trust when they keep their promises and consistently practice the values they preach. For example, the leader who stresses teamwork but turns a blind eye when the firm’s top business development person refuses to work with the marketing team loses all credibility.
- Share information. Many leaders hesitate to communicate until they have all of the answers or limit what they share to “need to know” information. Today’s workers expect more. Whether it’s a symptom of increased anxiety and the uncertain times we live in or generational differences, employees want to understand the why behind what they’re asked to do, where the organization is heading, leadership’s priorities and progress on goals.
When employees don’t get the information that they want from leadership, the rumor mill and false perceptions fill the void. Leaders earn trust when they communicate often and openly share information.
- Acknowledge that you’re a work in progress. Team members are well aware of the leader’s weaknesses and mistakes. When the leader acts as if they don’t exist, they signal a lack of self-awareness or that it’s unwise to be honest about shortcomings or missteps.
Leaders build trust when they’re humble about their imperfections, how they learn from mistakes, and the steps they’re taking to improve. Their candor models that mistakes are valuable learning opportunities and that no matter where you are in your career, there’s room for growth.
Without trust, the best conceived strategy is dead on arrival
A high-trust environment is a competitive advantage. Without trust, people retreat to self-preservation mode, productivity and effectiveness decrease and stress and frustration increase.
With trust, friction is significantly reduced. People feel inspired and empowered to act. Colleagues work together for the greater good of the organization. Trust is the performance multiplier and one of the best investments that leaders can make in their organization.
The author
Kimberly Paterson, Certified Executive Coach and Master Energy Leadership Coach, is president of CIM (www.cim-co.com). CIM works with organizations and individuals to maximize performance through positive lasting behavioral change. Her clients are property and casualty insurance companies, agencies and brokers. She can be reached at kpaterson@cim-co.com. Follow Kimberly on www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-paterson.
