- In today’s CEO Daily: Leaders contend with how to rebuild trust in an insular world.
- The big leadership story: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky was hacked.
- The markets: Chip stocks sell off globally.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. Few people have their finger on the pulse of American trust—or distrust—quite like Richard Edelman. For decades, the CEO of global communications firm Edelman has tracked how workers, consumers, and citizens really feel about the institutions around them. His newest read: Americans are retreating into ideological silos. Some 42% of workers would rather switch departments than report to a boss who votes differently, and most now get their news only from outlets that echo their own views. Edelman shared the data this week at his firm’s annual Trust Summit in New York, where the question on every leader’s mind was how to build trust in an increasingly insular world. Some takeaways:
Create common ground. Bring workers into the conversation about AI. A lot of CEOs focus on training their people; few talk about working with them. Don’t try to change people’s minds. Listen. How can we use AI to reimagine the workplace to spark joy and not just productivity? How do we find common ground? The FIFA World Cup and recent NBA finals demonstrated the power of sport. Years ago, I interviewed the right-wing CEO of a fast-food chain and a left-wing organizer of migrant labor. They bonded around the importance of faith in motivating them as leaders, which created space for connection and conversation.
Find honest brokers. These are the social connectors and groups that invest in your community, the managers who are transparent and trusted by your people. Don’t underestimate the power of the middle manager. Create a culture of genuine respect and curiosity, with clear values but respect for differences. Get to know your neighbors and connect as human beings. The large-scale pushback against ICE raids in Minnesota was a testament to the power of community. It was less a triumph of left vs. right than a triumph of citizens standing up for their neighbors, colleagues and friends. That’s why it worked. Americans are neighborly people.
Be transparent. Transparency is a powerful trust builder in everything from supply chains to communications. People trust their employer more than any other institution, which makes the workplace a powerful vehicle for information sharing. At the same time, 70% of respondents in the Edelman global survey said they believe CEOs are not being honest about job cuts. Transparency can also point to problems. Pay transparency reveals a growing divide between CEO and worker pay that can be hard to defend.
Be Polynational. America is not alone in pushing a nationalist agenda in areas like manufacturing, consumption, exports and immigration. More than two-thirds of people in developed markets prefer to buy brands made in their own country, according to Edelman, up five points since 2023. Whether that instinct is spurred by pride or anger over tariffs, war, rhetoric or other actions from the U.S. doesn’t really matter. The reality is that companies that want to succeed in different markets have to decentralize and restructure to become truly local players in the markets in which they operate.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com