Eileen Dooley is a talent and leadership development specialist, and a leadership coach, based in Calgary.
Feeling distrust of your leader or leadership in general? You are not alone; in fact, you would be in the minority if you didn’t. According to a March 2026 report from leadership development firm FranklinCovey Institute, only 42 per cent of employees view their own leaders as trusted.
Where is this distrust coming from? For starters, look no further than the ongoing return-to-office debate, where leaders say it elevates productivity and builds morale, but mostly fail to provide evidence to back it up.
Adding to this general feeling of distrust, the media has to ‘fact check’ world leaders after speeches and debates, which has now become an expectation, rather than the exception.
When I talk about trust, I am not talking about agreeing or disagreeing – I am talking about simply believing what they say.
Trust in leadership used to be assumed, mostly by default, as it was tied to tradition, titles, etc. Enter the social media and digital age, where access to news is readily available and leaders may find it more challenging to guard information.
Now, trust must be earned and, if this trend continues, leaders will soon need to first prove they can be trusted before they can expect anyone to have confidence in their decisions and abilities.
Throw artificial intelligence into the mix, where employees may believe AI’s judgment over that of their leader, especially if they don’t trust them or believe in their abilities to act as a leader.
According to the same FranklinCovey report, 62 per cent of employees view their leader’s management style as outdated by 10 years. Trust in AI will surge simply because of distrust in leaders.
Leadership behaviour, and what we expect from it, has evolved. There was a time when we never expected to hear much from our leaders, especially in large companies. It would be odd to see a CEO mingling with the minions back in the 1990s. We listened to what they (usually a he) said and just did our jobs, rarely questioning it, at least not openly. Decision-making was centralized and all were expected to fall in line with its top-down approach. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in corporate leaders in the mid 1990s was in the 30-40-per-cent range. Gallup is reporting 19 per cent today.
Over time, access and visibility to leaders have increased to what we have now; the expectation of transparency and authenticity. Leaders present at regular town hall meetings, take skip meetings (where workers skip a hierarchy level) and even solicit opinions and questions from employees. They’re expected to be truthful, accessible and genuine. This behaviour is a trend and trends should evolve, not regress.
How do we get back to believing in our leadership? How can trust be not only regained but also assumed from the start and elevated? The role of a leader is being eroded and, honestly, if we can’t trust who leads our company, where does that leave us? Trusting AI?
The answers to help leaders regain trust can be simple:
Tell it like it is: Employees can take it. A few months ago, I wrote a story about the return to the office and how some leaders are giving reasons that are, let us say, far from the truth. If leadership wants people back at the office five days a week for the simple reason that they like it that way, just say it, because anything other than the truth will earn nothing but disrespect.
Be present and listen: Not only is visibility important, but listening to people that you lead is even more important. Acknowledge what you hear, not only what you want or wanted to hear. Employees may not like the decision, but at least they know they were given the chance to be heard.
Never, ever lie: Once someone lies, trust will likely never come back. Don’t forget who you are talking to, likely the people who put you there – the board of directors, a hiring committee or, in the case of politics, the public. Being anything but honest will erode trust indefinitely and further undermine a leader’s image.
Prioritize these three areas and park pressure, ego, popularity, control and anything else that will get in the way of earning and elevating trust. I have yet to have a boss with whom I have agreed with all their decisions, nor do I ever expect to. But if I have respect, confidence and trust in my leader, I will accept the decision and work with it.
In the world of leadership, I would trade likeability and popularity for trust, any day.