Experiencing Some Distrust in Leadership?

Over the last few weeks I have had several conversations with people in different (for-profit and non-profit) fields with a similar theme: distrust in leadership. In some cases this has come out as targeted public complaints about a figurehead; in others as a move toward a strike; in others a community cry for more transparency about decision-making; in other cases it has simply shown up as complaints to colleagues. In some instances, this has led to quiet quitting and less enthusiasm for the goals of the organization, while in others it has led to employees looking for a new employer, and/or the organization being brought into the public spotlight in a negative light.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, at the time of writing, the US federal government is entering a shutdown as a result of a congressional impasse on appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. According to the BBC, the shutdown furloughs 587,183 federal employees and could leave around 700,000 working without pay. Needless to say, Republicans are blaming Democrats, and Democrats are blaming Republicans. And, regardless of your own political views, it’s fair to say that unprecedented sweeping changes have occurred in the last nine months, often with very little notice and in confusing, chaotic ways.

It’s also undisputed that, as the saying goes, the rich have never been richer. According to Forbes and CEOWORLD magazine, the world’s billionaires collectively commanded $16.1 trillion in 2025, an increase of $1.9 trillion in a single year. While much is made by politicians on both sides of the aisle of American wealth being at an all-time high, the difference for someone on the upper end of income is very different than for someone on the lower end. Economist Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s monthly survey of consumer sentiment, explains it this way in a New York Times piece by Talmon Joseph Smith from March 2025: “A 10 percent boost to middle and especially higher incomes is money that feels real, like you can do something with it.” For someone making $100,000, that means a $10,000 raise. But a 10 percent increase at the bottom, perhaps to an hourly wage of $16.50 from $15, “means you’re still living hand-to-mouth,” she added. “If we define someone as living paycheck to paycheck if they either say they do not have three months of emergency savings or say they cannot afford a $2,000 emergency expense,” then 59 percent of American adults are “living paycheck to paycheck.”

(To our non-US readers, please forgive the US focus – I imagine you might not have a hard time finding your own examples from closer to home too.)

With all this happening in the world around us, is it any wonder that people – perhaps yourself included – are finding trust in leadership a little hard to come by these days? Or perhaps you’re on the other end of things – you’re in a leadership position and you find people questioning you? But knowing that these things are happening within a larger context doesn’t mean that they’re less painful, of course. What it might do, though, is give you some ability to set them within the larger context, and have some grace and understanding for others – and for yourself! – within that context.

So how might we do that this week?

This Week’s Tips:

• If you’re in a position of leadership: You may be finding yourself under a lot of pressure at the moment. Wherever possible, orient your work towards a collaborative approach in meetings and elsewhere, using the Thanksgiving model of leadership. If full transparency is not an appropriate course of action, aim for translucency instead. Also, make sure you’re setting appropriate boundaries for yourself to rest, spend time in nature, and take care of yourself – your leadership will suffer if you are pushing yourself to be everything for everyone.

• If you’re not in a position of leadership – or find yourself distrusting your own leaders: Try to distinguish for yourself how much of your concerns are specific to this situation, and how much is coming from the wider world context. This is, of course, easier said than done, but taking time to do so can help you to move forward with steps that are appropriate to the situation you are personally facing, rather than addressing the situation in front of you as if aiming to fix the whole world. You might do this through conversation with a coach or trusted listener, through journaling, through meditation, or other methods that work for you. You might also find that helping to separate out the micro from the macro relieves you of some stress, and helps you more clearly see the steps that you are able to take. If so, great! Start to write down – perhaps even on your calendar – what steps you will take and when you will take them.

Try these out this week, and let us know how it goes! We’d love to hear from you.

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