Trust is cracking, and the numbers prove it — Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer shows faith in leaders and institutions sliding at alarming speed. That matters because without trust, even the best strategies stall before they start.
The data is clear: skepticism has become the default, and leaders now face the challenge of earning belief before they can inspire action. The good news? Trust isn’t gone — it’s just harder to win, and the leaders who master radical transparency and inside-out communication can not only rebuild it but turn it into a competitive advantage.
Imagine leading in a world where your word consistently inspires confidence, where people lean in instead of pulling back — that’s what’s possible when you treat trust not as a PR goal, but as the foundation of every decision and conversation.
In this week's Paper Napkin Wisdom Weekly:
- TL:DR
- Paper Napkin Wisdom Preview
- The Trust Crisis: Leading When Skepticism Is the Default
- Focus–Align–Act: The Trust Crisis
- Week in Review
🧠 TL;DR – Leading Through the Trust Crisis
🧭 FOCUS
Trust is in freefall, according to Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer. Leaders now start from a credibility deficit — every message must overcome skepticism before it inspires action.
🔹 Key Question: How will I communicate today so stakeholders are more certain of my integrity than yesterday?
🔹 Napkin Thought: Trust is built in small, honest moments — and lost in one careless misstep.
🎯 ALIGN
Shift from seeing trust as a PR goal to an operating principle. Every interaction is a deposit or withdrawal.
🔹 Reframe: Trust is not “won back later” — it’s protected or eroded in real time.
🔹 Mantra: Say it as if they were in the room — even when they’re not.
🚀 ACT
🔹 Audit your last 5 announcements against: Is it true? Is it clear? Is it necessary? Is it human?
🔹 Inform internal teams first, with context to make them advocates.
🔹 Create a trust dashboard tracking commitments, feedback, and follow-through.
🔁 REMEMBER:
Trust compounds with consistent, transparent action — but one big misstep can erase years of credibility.
Paper Napkin Wisdom Podcast Preview
This is the only place where we give you a sneak peek into what's coming up on Paper Napkin Wisdom. Remember to share this with anyone who needs to hear these messages.
Episode 280: Michael Walsh Freedom Series Pt 14: Scaling isn’t about bigger budgets—it’s about managers who grow other leaders. Michael’s napkin map shows how to turn people into multipliers, not just performers.
Episode 281: Pete Olander - Hear how failing forward fueled his comeback—and why he now seeks obstacles on purpose.
Episode 282: Saahil Mehta distills mountaineer-grade clarity into a ritual for cutting baggage and leaping into bold moves.
Episode 283: Michael Walsh Freedom Series Pt 15: Michael shows how to prepare for unexpected change—stress-testing better/same/worse scenarios and building depth in both people and financial resources—so you can turn disruption into momentum.
Episode 284: Michael Walsh Freedom Series Pt 16 (Finale): Michael Walsh ties the entire Freedom Framework together—rethink the core, hire smart, train & grow people, focus on teams, grow managers, develop leaders, and prepare for unexpected change—into one practical pyramid playbook for scaling with resilience and real freedom.
Episode 285: Kendra MacDonald - CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster shares how choosing one deliberate stretch-learning each year builds relevance, resilience, and outsized impact in the blue economy and beyond.
Episode 286: Introducing The Edge of the Napkin — the weekend series where bold, unpolished ideas meet practical action. Every episode takes you to the brink of possibility, where wisdom leaves the napkin and starts shaping your life and business. We will cover uncomfortable subjects, taboo ideas and cutting edge thinking every week - sometimes with very special guests.
Episode 287: Sam Toles has powered original content launches—from Vimeo’s breakout series High Maintenance to Bleacher Report’s celebrated programming, he blends storytelling and strategic innovation to redefine digital content across platforms.
Episode 288: Katy Spada brings over two decades of experience in program and product leadership—spanning roles at Microsoft, Intel, and beyond—founder of Ary + Mann a culturally inspired children's apparel brand.
Stay connected with Paper Napkin Wisdom on Apple, YouTube, and Spotify to be the first to hear these incredible episodes!
The Trust Crisis: Leading When Skepticism Is the Default
Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer is sounding the alarm — trust in institutions, leaders, and even peer-to-peer recommendations is sliding fast. In an age when skepticism has become the default setting, the leaders who will thrive are not the ones who talk the loudest, but the ones who prove they are worth believing.
Why This Matters — and Why Not Acting is Risky
Trust isn’t just a warm, fuzzy value. It’s the invisible currency of leadership, business, and social progress. When trust erodes:
- Customers hesitate to buy.
- Employees disengage.
- Partnerships stall.
- Communities fracture.
Edelman’s 2025 data paints a stark picture: skepticism now meets most official statements, even when factually correct. Leaders are starting from a deficit — every message must first overcome disbelief before it can inspire action.
Why not act? Some leaders tell themselves:
- “It’s just a PR problem — we’ll spin it.”
- “People don’t need all the details.”
- “Once results come, trust will follow.”
The problem? Without proactive trust-building, those results never land because no one sticks around long enough to see them. Inaction doesn’t hold the line — it accelerates the decline.
What’s Really Going On — and the Data Behind It
The Trust Barometer reveals three major shifts:
- Institutional Neutrality is Dead – Neutral messaging no longer earns credibility. Stakeholders expect a clear stance and visible alignment with stated values.
- Peer-to-Peer Trust is Slipping – Even recommendations from “someone like me” are viewed through a skeptical lens, thanks to misinformation fatigue and AI-generated deception.
- Business Holds the Last, Fragile Advantage – Among all institutions, business remains the most trusted, but the margin is razor-thin and trending downward.
These shifts mean that credibility must now be built from the inside out — starting with employees, partners, and closest stakeholders — before it can be broadcast externally.
How to Respond — Practical Steps to Build and Keep Trust
1. Adopt Radical Transparency Practices
- Share context, not just conclusions. Explain why a decision was made, including what alternatives were considered.
- Make the “how” visible. Show the process behind actions and policies.
2. Use “Inside-Out” Communication
- Tell your team first — before press releases, public posts, or customer announcements.
- Equip employees with clear, shareable key points so they become credible advocates, not confused bystanders.
3. Ask These 4 Questions Before Every Announcement
- Is it true? (Fact-check from multiple angles.)
- Is it clear? (Remove jargon, clarify meaning.)
- Is it necessary? (Avoid noise that dilutes credibility.)
- Is it human? (Would I say this face-to-face with someone I respect?)
4. Create a Feedback Loop
- Make it easy for stakeholders to ask questions and get answers.
- Show how feedback influenced your next steps — even if it didn’t change the decision.
What If You Do This Well — and How to Share It
When trust is earned and kept, decisions move faster, teams take greater ownership, and customers lean in instead of leaning away. Crises shrink, reputations strengthen, and competitive advantages compound.
If you embed radical transparency and inside-out communication into your leadership DNA:
- You become the signal in the noise.
- You create loyalty that survives mistakes.
- You inspire advocacy rather than mere compliance.
To share this approach:
- Host an internal workshop to teach the 4 trust questions.
- Share case studies (successes and failures) where transparency made the difference.
- Encourage leaders at all levels to model the behavior in meetings, emails, and public statements.
- Post your trust-building commitments on your website or intranet — then live them visibly.
Trust isn’t a quarterly KPI. It’s a compound investment. Every clear, honest, and human interaction is a deposit. In today’s climate, that’s the only account that guarantees long-term returns.
✳️ FOCUS–ALIGN–ACT
The Trust Crisis
🧭 FOCUS
Core Insight:
Trust is no longer a given — it must be earned and protected with intention. In 2025’s climate, every leader starts from a credibility deficit. Without proactive trust-building, skepticism will override even the best strategies.
Napkin Insight:
"Trust is built in the shadows of small, honest moments — and lost in the spotlight of one careless misstep."
Key Question:
How will I communicate and lead today so that my stakeholders are more certain of my integrity than they were yesterday?
🎯 ALIGN
Reframe the Problem:
Instead of viewing trust as a PR outcome, see it as an operating principle. Trust isn’t something you “win back later” — it’s either being deposited or withdrawn with every interaction.
Mantra:
"Say it as if they were in the room — even when they’re not."
Principles to Anchor On:
- Radical Transparency: Share both the decision and the thinking that shaped it.
- Inside-Out First: Inform your internal stakeholders before the public.
- 4 Trust Questions: Is it true? Is it clear? Is it necessary? Is it human?
🚀 ACT
Immediate Actions to Implement This Week:
- Audit Your Last 5 Announcements – Were they clear, necessary, truthful, and human? If not, fix them before the next one.
- Shift Your Sequence – Make sure employees hear news first, with the context they need to become advocates.
- Build a Trust Dashboard – Track commitments made, feedback received, and how it’s addressed.
In-the-Moment Habit:
Before sending any major communication, run it through the 4 Trust Questions with a peer review — and document your answers.
🔁 REMEMBER:
Trust compounds like interest — the more deposits you make through clear, honest, human actions, the harder it is to lose it. But one big withdrawal can wipe out years of gains. Guard it like your reputation depends on it — because it does.
Week in Review
In Episode 278, entrepreneur and executive coach Rhett Power drives home a simple but powerful insight: real growth isn’t about how much you know—it’s what you actually do with that knowledge. Drawing on his experience transforming a startup toy company into one of South Carolina’s fastest‑growing businesses (Inc. 500 honoree), he emphasizes that putting learning into action—through structured habits like weekly commitments, scorecards, and visible accountability—turns ideas into outcomes. Power also highlights how useful constraints sharpen focus and how small, frequent experiments compound into meaningful progress and disciplined culture.
In Episode 279, Steven Langer dismantles the myth that rest is something we earn after the work is done—urging instead that rest is a human design and a daily practice, not a luxury or reward. With a background spanning organizational leadership, change management, and wellness strategy, he argues that rest—distinct from sleep—is a series of intentional micro-breaks that reset our energy and clarity. Steven warns that chronic fatigue dulls creativity and decision-making and highlights how leaders who model rest can reshape culture, productivity, and performance. He closes with actionable tools for leaders: schedule short resets throughout the day, use energy baseline checks, establish zero-meeting zones, and introduce a “Rest Menu” of quick replenishment practices to cultivate coherence rather than superficial work-life balance
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