Matt Finnis is Cranlana’s CEO. In this article, originally published in the Cranlana Quarterly October 2024, Matt explores the crucial distinction between being trusted and becoming trustworthy, calling on leaders to shift their focus from ‘winning back’ trust, to earning it through ethical leadership and reflection.
It may be be just the heightened sense which comes from having a role which carries the privilege of engaging with a wide variety of leaders and change-makers, but lately it seems that just about everywhere we go there are more conversations (often met with outrage or despair!) being had than ever, about trust.
Specifically, about the central role trust plays in our relationships with the organisations upon whom we depend for the services most essential to our lives including retail, travel and banking.
Most recently it has shown up in the controversy surrounding Australia’s largest supermarkets – accused of manipulating prices, just before offering so-called discounts. The ACCC’s decision to bring charges against Coles and Woolworths for breach of consumer laws necessarily frames the issue through a legal lens, however for the public (and therefore for the supermarkets), it’s actually all about trust.
Of course, supermarkets aren’t alone here and commentators have been quick to draw comparisons between the current discount furore and the issue of airline fares being sold for flights that would never take off, or super fund members being charged duplicate fees and insurance premiums across multiple accounts. Regardless of the legal outcomes, the negative publicity associated with these high profile cases has undoubtedly resulted in a diminished sense of trust, crucial to any organisation’s reputation and success.
But here’s the thing: when leaders responding to integrity challenges talk about “winning back” trust, they risk missing an opportunity to lead deeper company-wide transformation.
Trust isn’t something you can simply earn back with a marketing campaign or a few good deeds. What we should be talking about is how our organisations can become truly trustworthy. At Cranlana, we believe there’s a big difference between being trusted and being trustworthy. Being trusted can be a temporary state, influenced by good PR, past experiences, or even consumer loyalty programs. But trustworthiness is about embodying consistent, ethical behaviour, even when we think no one is looking.
Onora O’Neill. Image: TEDTalks
As philosopher Onora O’Neill posits, trustworthiness is built through “intelligent openness,” where organisations are transparent not just in their successes, but in their processes, reasoning, and challenges.
It’s about being open and honest in a way that enables others, rather than yourself, to assess whether you are worthy of their trust.
Of course, we’d all prefer not to be let down but the reality is that even organisations that are seen to care deeply about their relationships with customers will occasionally fall short. The key for leaders is to use these opportunities to engage in some deep reflection – in addition to apologies and promises to do better. We can only avoid falling into the same trap by asking ourselves the tough questions:
- How did we get here?
- How did we let these ethical blind spots cloud our judgment?
- To whom are we responsible in making these types of decisions?
This work isn’t just about avoiding the next scandal; it’s about fostering a genuine culture of trustworthiness. It’s about embedding ethical principles into every level of the organisation, from the checkout lanes to the executive suites. And it’s about doing this not because regulators are watching, but because it’s the right thing to do.
Our 2024 Vincent Fairfax Fellows are in the home straight of their year-long journey and recently faced the provocation, “what will future generations judge us for?”
Unsurprisingly, the paired concepts of trust and responsibility turn up in the ensuing dialogue. In particular, how do we as leaders shape our organisations to be deserving of trust, for the long term?
We aim to support leaders to develop the mindsets and skillsets required to resist the powerful momentum driving shorter term outcomes or an acceptance of adhering to the letter of the law rather than doing the right thing. These same pressures can result in trust being treated as a commodity to be traded and managed, as opposed to an enduring reflection of our organisation’s commitment to ethical principles.
Leadership is hard.
We won’t always get it right.
By aiming for trustworthy rather than trust-winning, we can demonstrate that commitment to ethical practices actually goes hand in hand with business success.
Trusted leaders create sustainable communities where their people can thrive. We’re here to help you build a leadership practice centred on enduring ethical practices. Explore our programs and experiences here.
