Trust Is Built When Agreement Runs Out

The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer reports that seven in ten people worldwide are unwilling or hesitant to trust someone whose values, information, approaches to solving problems or cultural background differ from their own. For business, the implication is clear. Organisations cannot make progress only with people who think alike. Leaders must bring together different experiences, perspectives and priorities. They must also help people work constructively across those differences.

In my experience working with leaders, trust rarely disappears in one dramatic moment. More often, it is gradually weakened by small inconsistencies.

• A difficult issue is avoided.

• A decision is made without explanation.

• Someone raises a challenging question and is quietly excluded from the next conversation.

• A leader says that feedback is welcome but becomes defensive when it arrives.

Each moment may appear minor. Together, they teach people what is genuinely safe, valued and expected.

This is why I do not see trust as a communication campaign or a statement of organisational values. Trust is created through repeated experiences. People notice whether leaders explain their reasoning, acknowledge uncertainty, keep their commitments and respond constructively when someone disagrees.

Importantly, trust does not require constant agreement.

In healthy business relationships, people can challenge an idea without questioning one another’s worth. They can raise a concern without being labelled difficult. They can admit that something is not working without immediately searching for someone to blame.

That requires leadership awareness.

Under pressure, even experienced leaders can become more controlling, impatient or defensive. Their intention may be to protect standards or accelerate progress. However, the result can be caution, silence or compliance rather than genuine commitment.

This is where coaching can make a practical difference.

Coaching gives leaders a confidential space to examine the gap between what they intend and what others may experience. It helps them notice the assumptions, emotions, and habitual responses influencing their behaviour. This is particularly important during conflict, uncertainty and change. Research on 'Core Energy Coaching' similarly suggests that greater awareness can help people recognise fear-based, automatic reactions and choose more constructive responses under stress.

Trust is not built by asking people to trust us. It is built by becoming more consistently trustworthy, especially when the conversation is difficult, the answer is unclear, or the other person sees things differently.

A useful leadership question is therefore not simply:

“Do my people trust me?”

It is:

“What are they learning about me from the way I respond when trust is tested?”

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