There are some interesting takeaways in Edelman’s Trust Barometer report for 2025.
Some of the things that jumped out to me:
- In response to the statement ‘I trust my employer to do what’s right’, trust declined by 3% globally, and 2% in Canada.
- Fear that leaders lie to us has risen dramatically. The change from 2021 to 2025 is +12% for business leaders, and +11% for both government leaders and the media.
It’s not all bad, though.
- There is a high level of trust for CEOs. Of respondents with a moderate or low sense of grievance, 50-64% trust CEOs, and 65-72% trust their own CEO.
- Business still remains the most trusted institution at 62% overall (trailed by 58% for NGOs, and 52% for both government and media)
Here’s what I’m reading into those numbers:
1. Trust is fragmenting (not collapsing overall).
A 2–3% decline in “I trust my employer to do what’s right” sounds modest, but paired with a double-digit rise in fear that leaders lie, it tells a deeper story:
- People are not suddenly cynical about everything
- They are becoming more selective about who they trust and why
This is less a crisis of trust and more a crisis of credibility signals. Employees and the public are watching actions far more closely than statements.
2. “Leaders” as a category are distrusted. Known leaders are not.
The sharp rise in fear that leaders lie (+11–12%) contrasts directly with strong trust in CEOs—especially one’s own CEO.
That gap suggests:
- Distrust is aimed at abstract, distant, or institutional leadership
- Trust survives where leaders are visible, consistent, and accountable
In other words: proximity matters. People trust humans they can observe, not titles they can’t.
3. Grievance is the real trust divider.
The trust levels among respondents with moderate or low grievance are strikingly high:
- 50–64% trust CEOs in general (compared to just 30% of those with high levels of grievance)
- 65–72% trust their own CEO (compared to 51%)
This implies:
- Trust hasn’t disappeared; it has polarized
- Leaders inherit trust or skepticism based on employees’ lived experience, not corporate messaging
Once grievance takes hold, trust becomes extremely hard to rebuild, no matter how polished the leadership team is.
4. Business is still trusted .. but it’s on probation.
At 62%, business remains the most trusted institution, ahead of NGOs, government, and media. That’s a position of relative strength, not safety.
This trust is conditional:
- Earned through competence, delivery, and fairness
- Lost quickly through inconsistency, opacity, or performative leadership
Business is trusted not because it’s loved—but because it’s perceived as more grounded in reality than other institutions.
5. The leadership implication: trust is now role-specific, not automatic.
These stats point to a new leadership reality:
- The CEO role still carries trust capital
- The “leader” label does not
- Employees are evaluating leaders individually, not hierarchically
This raises the bar for executive leadership:
- Character, follow-through, and clarity matter more than vision statements
- Trust is built through decisions, not narratives
What this means for executive hiring and succession
From a hiring perspective, this data reinforces a critical shift:
Organizations don’t just need capable leaders.
They need trust carriers.
The most valuable executives right now are those who:
- Can operate under skepticism
- Communicate plainly without spin
- Are comfortable being scrutinized
- Build trust locally, not institutionally
In a low-trust environment, leadership mistakes cost more—and strong leadership compounds faster.
The bottom line
People haven’t stopped trusting business.
They’ve stopped trusting faceless leadership.
Trust now lives at the intersection of visibility, integrity, and lived experience. Organizations that understand this—and hire leaders accordingly—will outperform those still relying on titles and reputation alone.