Check out the image above illustrating the Canadian government’s analysis of top disruptors. Number one in the near term–an inability to distinguish truth from lies–is unsurprising when you consider all the misinformation and intentional misdirection floating around social media and politics. It’s a very scary situation.
Consider this quote from Edelman’s 2024 analysis of trust:
“…many are concerned that politics has too much influence on science. This perception is contributing to the decline of trust in the institutions responsible for steering us through change…”
When you don’t know who or what to trust it generates massive uncertainty and stress. To relieve it, people seek information from poor sources (gossip and hearsay) or simply retreat and avoid.
This applies in the workplace as much as it does in our personal lives. Our BS meters are highly tuned and suspicion is a default setting. Are our leaders telling us the WHOLE truth? We’ve been burned before. And in the absence of trust, we turn to peers and use their experience to guide our decisions.
Edelman’s report confirms that “Trust in companies…is in decline, worry over societal threats and establishment leaders misleading us is growing, while peers are as trusted as scientists…”
Peers as trusted as scientists??? You see the danger. The advance of AI capabilities to mimic voice and generate convincing video of leaders exacerbates the problem. It’s self-inflicted.
But there is hope! Yes, people turn to peers to fill the gap in trust. If you are not a peer of your stakeholders in change, you can become one. Get up close and personal. Build rapport with the people you need to lead or influence. If that’s not possible, build bridges with select people who already have those relationships. Supply them with as much truth as they need to be convinced that it’s safe to pass to their peers. Ensure middle managers have a path to answer every question they have so they can relay accurate information.
One final tip, and it’s a big one. Leaders can and should acknowledge the fact that people have been misled in the past; that it has been difficult to discern what is real. Then commit—with sincerity—to providing honest information as soon as you can.
Trust is in short supply these days. Building it is job #1 for every leader of change.
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
