At the 2025 ACC Annual Meeting, Andrew Ross Sorkin was asked a deceptively simple question: Are there qualities of leadership that stand out as leaders navigate crisis? His answer cut through the noise.
“Look,” he said, “in the end, there’s only one thing that matters, which is trust. We’re all in the trust business. That is the business. And the leaders who succeed are the ones who have a reservoir of trust.”
That idea has stayed with me because it’s old wisdom that is increasingly forgotten.
We are living through an era obsessed with speed, scale, and technology. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work. Hybrid models have redefined how we connect. Data tells us more than ever before. And yet, in moments of uncertainty—economic volatility, organizational change, geopolitical disruption, reputational risk—what is it that we, as human beings, seek? We desperately look for where to place our trust.
So there’s the real measure for leadership: Have you earned that trust?
The Misconception of Modern Leadership
There’s a prevailing belief that leadership today is primarily about being strategic: the right strategy, the right operational plan, the right amount of information and financial investment, the right technology. Those things matter. But they are tools and enablers, not foundations.
Sorkin nailed it. Trust is the foundation.
Technology can optimize decisions, but it cannot replace credibility. AI can accelerate insight, but it cannot replace faith. Hybrid work can expand access and flexibility, but it cannot replace the bonds of lived experience. The best laid plan and the most capable leader need to be trusted in order to pilot the way and achieve the desired objective. Trust is the secret sauce, often making the difference between success and failure.
And trust cannot be forced or rushed.
Trust Is Built One Interaction at a Time
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a leader is that trust is cumulative. It’s built slowly, deliberately, and often invisibly—one conversation at a time, one decision at a time, one moment of transparency at a time.
Intentionality matters.
Being purposeful about how—and when—you engage with others isn’t inefficiency; it’s a disciplined approach to leadership. Sometimes it’s better to wait until you have the right amount of time for a meaningful conversation than to rush and risk misspeaking or being misunderstood.
One approach that worked for me was to have brief, intentional conversations that I would call “planting seeds” for future thought and conversation. No rush to a conclusion. No hidden intent. Just seeds of ideas to revisit when time allows for the full consideration the topic deserves.
Lessons from Leading in a Hybrid World
When I stepped into my role as President and CEO of the leading professional association in its sector, I followed a great leader who had served as CEO for 20 years. I made a conscious decision during my first 30 days not to travel or take outside appointments. Instead, I focused entirely on internal relationships—listening, learning, and understanding the organization through the eyes of its employees—from the inside out. I wanted to invest the time to get to know my new colleagues and for them to get to know me. Consistently in the office five days a week, 8+ hours each day.
That investment paid dividends years later, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When everything became uncertain—when offices closed, plans evaporated, money was tight, and anxiety ran high—what mattered most wasn’t how quickly we adopted new technologies. It was whether our people trusted us to communicate honestly, to act with empathy, and to make decisions grounded in their realities. As management, we had to trust without seeing that the work would get done. We all trusted one another to survive as individuals and as an organization.
Hybrid work has changed how we connect, but it hasn’t changed what connection requires. Trust is still built through consistency, clarity, and care. Leaders who confuse visibility with presence — or frequency with quality — are, in my opinion, missing the point.
The Reservoir of Trust
Andrew Ross Sorkin’s idea of a “reservoir of trust” is powerful because it reframes the foundational requirement for leadership.
You don’t build trust when you need it. You build it long before so that when difficult decisions arise, people give you the benefit of the doubt. They assume positive intent. They listen rather than resist.
That reservoir is filled when leaders:
- They are open about their own circumstances and limitations
- Handle information responsibly—sharing what they can, explaining what they can’t
- Are willing to share not only the “what” of their decisions, but also the “why” behind them
- Communicate consistently, even when the message is uncomfortable
- Listen with intention, not defensiveness
- Don’t hesitate to apologize if they get it wrong
And perhaps most importantly, when they treat relationships as essential work, not peripheral to it.
Trust Is the Competitive Advantage
In boardrooms and executive suites, we often talk about transformation as a function of innovation and efficiency. But transformation without trust doesn’t scale. It fractures.
Organizations with high trust move faster because fewer decisions get stuck. They retain talent because people feel seen and respected. They navigate crises better because credibility has already been established.
Technology will continue to evolve at breathtaking speed. AI will reshape roles, workflows, and entire industries. But leadership will not be defined by who adopts or creates the newest tool first. It will be defined by who can carry people through change with confidence and integrity.
Back to What Endures
We spend a lot of time talking about what’s different in today’s world of work. Perhaps we should spend more time remembering what hasn’t changed.
Trust still takes time. Relationships still matter. Listening is still an essential leadership skill. Intentionality remains the key difference between connection and confusion.
The next era of leadership won’t belong to those who rely solely on technology or deploy it most efficiently. It will belong to those who understand that trust is not a soft skill—it’s the hardest, and most valuable, work we do.
And it starts long before we ever need to draw from it.
