The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2025 revealed a stark reality: Trust in CEOs is at an all-time low and some businesses face an uncertain future. At Insights, we recognize that business leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to make transformational changes and lead their organizations into a better world - right now.
The actual stat is that 75% of employees trust their boss. While not a bad stat in itself, it does represent a 3% decrease on last year, and reflects a growing scepticism towards authority in general, with both government leaders and journalists, being accused of deliberately spinning untruths.
To understand what's happening, we must look at the context.
Recent catastrophic world events, globalization, economic and technological advances are all conspiring to create a climate of fear and worry among the population. Workers are losing hope for the future and railing against those in charge.
But as business leaders become aware of the task in front of them, there are bright spots and emerging opportunities to empower economic success by rebuilding that trust.
Employee rewards like increased pay, better working conditions, and training and development opportunities are a good place to start. But business leaders will need to stretch a lot further to fully regain their employees’ trust. They need to demonstrate their determination to make a positive impact, not just on their own organization, but on the wider community.
And if they want to avoid further criticism from an already sceptical public, leaders need to work together across industries to address employees’ growing concerns around economic security, health and the environment.
As a leader, you need to make sure you are setting the right tone in your team or organization to begin restoring an atmosphere of trust.
Set an example by empowering your employees with the right tools and level of autonomy they need to perform at their best. Demonstrate your trust by treating them as individuals: allow flexible work patterns, give them your utmost respect and put the power back in their hands. You will soon find their trust in you returning.
Here are five simple things you can start doing right now to begin regaining your employees’ trust:
To engender trust in those you lead, a leader must set an example by demonstrating several key qualities.
They must be focused on results and act in accordance with the organization’s objectives, while at the same time be creative, future-thinking, innovative, inspiring and able to communicate their ideas in a clear way. Leaders must be agile and logical thinkers and show empathy for the people they lead.
A good leader is authentic: they recognize their strengths and at the same time will readily acknowledge their blind spots and take steps to improve. Acutely aware of the impact their behavior has on others, a good leader will adjust to accommodate the behavioral preferences of their team members. They have a strong sense of purpose and act consistently with their core values and beliefs.
Effective leaders believe in continuous learning and are willing to support others in achieving their aims. They are emotionally intelligent and resilient – they know how to respond rather than react, to develop a positive mindset when faced with daily challenges. Good leaders have empathy for those they lead – they can put themselves in the other person’s shoes and show understanding for their employees.
A positive team climate has a high level of trust. Team members are engaged and motivated, and willing to authentically take part in challenging discussions. An effective team maintains its shape under pressure and there’s a genuine sense of caring, respect and support among individual team members, especially through difficult times such as periods of major structural change. There is a sense of openness and honesty, and team members are willing to speak up without fear of judgment.
Positive relationships among team members are key to transforming a group of individuals into a cohesive team. But the overall effectiveness of any team is not always entirely down to the leader. It also depends on factors such as the strengths, capabilities and behavioral styles of the individuals in the team. Each team member will contribute in their own unique way. To foster trust in the team, it’s the leader’s job to do what they can to encourage a climate of support and inclusion.
“The basic building block of good teambuilding is for a leader to promote the feeling that every human being is unique and adds value.” – Anon
Sometimes the little things we say can have a big impact. By being aware of your own behaviors and how they affect others, you can foster an atmosphere of trust among your workforce...
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What you might say: |
What you could say instead: |
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I can do it quicker myself |
It will take time to explain at the start, but it’s better to give everyone the chance to contribute |
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I can do it better myself |
If I share this task, we may come up with new ideas on how to improve things |
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I won’t delegate, the team is already busy enough |
The team is keen for development, so I’ll delegate this to them and let them learn |
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The team is performing really well – I must be a great leader |
The team is performing well. They’ve all played an important part in our success |
A good leader must be aware of themselves and their own leadership style before they can begin to lead others effectively.
Do you know your own Insights Discovery colour energies and those of your employees? Applying Insights Discovery in a team setting can help you better understand yourself and your team members. It is most likely that your team and organization will use all four color energies in varying degrees in different contexts.
Get familiar with your team or organization’s color energies and plot them on a team wheel. What do you notice? A most effective and harmonious organization is one where all four colors are in balance. Every organization needs, for example, Cool Blue energy for detail, Earth Green energy for support, Sunshine Yellow energy for optimism, and Fiery Red energy for action.
Cool Blue
If you’re a leader with a lot of Cool Blue energy, people may see you as doubting, questioning, obstructive, nitpicking and unemotional.
You could try to regain their trust by:
Fiery Red
If you’re a leader with a lot of Fiery Red energy, people may see you as aggressive, blunt, dominating and impatient.
You could try to regain their trust by:
Sunshine Yellow
If you’re a leader with a lot of Sunshine Yellow energy, people may see you as absent-minded, informal, indiscreet, casual, and flippant.
You could try to regain their trust by:
Earth Green
If you’re a leader with a lot of Earth Green energy, people may see you as stubborn, private, hesitant and reserved.
You could try to regain their trust by:
Effective leadership starts with being aware of the impact you have on others.
Decide what really matters to you and behave accordingly. Enable trust by encouraging your team to grow and work for positive results. When you and your team are all acting in alignment with a core purpose and are able to express yourselves authentically, trust will naturally follow. And when trust in you improves, optimism and motivation among your team will flourish.
Self-aware leaders are more effective at inspiring and motivating their teams than their less aware counterparts. That’s why our leadership programs start with self-understanding; helping leaders see where they excel, where they struggle and where they’re just treading water. Once this awareness is established, we guide leaders in understanding others, enabling them to nurture talent, unify teams and lead innovative, dynamic organizations.