Trust in an Uncertain Economy

This the first of several postings this week regarding the June issue of the Harvard Business Review.

“REBUILDING TRUST” emblazons the cover of the June 2009 cover of the HBR. Sadly, it’s no real surprise that so many people have lost trust in financial, real estate, auto and other industries decimated by the financial meltdown. HBR has done an excellent job keeping focused on issues surrounding this crisis. And this month several articles revolve around the issue of trust in a bad economy.

One observation about trust, a topic I’ve written about in my recent book, The Transparent Leader, and which will be the topic of a 2010 book in process, The Trusted Leader:

Trust is earned or eroded every day by what we say and do. Executives making incredibly difficult decisions in a time of economic uncertainty are especially vulnerable to a massive loss of trust. One data point quoted in “The Buck Stops (and Starts) at Business School” in the June issue of HBR, shows that HBR readers have lost 76% of their trust in senior management in US companies. That astonishing statistic should rivet leader’s attention.