The Four Factors of Trust

CHAPTER 10Executive Leadership

In this chapter:

• The CEO's role in building trust
• Trust challenges faced by CEOs
• Principles of trust‐building for CEOs

The CEO's Role in Building Trust

We have a lot of empathy for CEOs these days. The work itself is hard, and the weight of the responsibility and public gaze can be heavy. In a world of information everywhere and anytime, CEOs are responsible not only for their own actions, but they face the potential consequences of every product recall, customer service complaint, poorly worded internal email, or badly executed advertising campaign. Anything any employee, customer, or partner says or does could make headlines and erode trust. And it all stops with the CEO, regardless of the type of organization—whether publicly traded, privately held, for profit or not‐for‐profit.

Not surprisingly, 96% of surveyed CEOs rate building and maintaining trust as a high priority. And yet many organizations treat trust a bit like a fire alarm.

Not surprisingly, 96 percent of surveyed CEOs rate building and maintaining trust as a high priority.¹¹³ And yet many organizations treat trust a bit like a fire alarm. Some leaders assume everything is fine and only become concerned when the alarm sounds. A recent study on the impact of negative trust events for large companies found that a negative trust‐related event eroded market cap by up to 56 percent.¹¹⁴ With this kind of consequence, CEOs cannot afford not to prioritize trust.

To gain insight ...