𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 — 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿

Across every interview in the Voices of Leadership study, one theme overpowered all others:

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝗶𝘁.

And the most striking quote came from a leader who said it plainly:“𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.”

But here’s the part that matters:

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 — 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆:
➡️𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Sharing context, not just decisions, so the team understands the why behind the work.
➡️𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Giving people ownership and letting them carry the ball — not snatching it back.
➡️𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Doing what they say they’ll do. Every time. Especially when it’s hard.

These weren’t “nice-to-haves.”
They were performance 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 — 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵?

Download the Voices of Leadership Report

Ready to build a trust-driven, design-led team for 2026? Let’s connect. #voicesofleadership #bebrave #trust #nonnegotiables