Archives

We are asking the wrong questions about trust

The beginning of September is the traditional starting point for election season, and this year, trust is on the ballot. Candidates running for office will spend the next 10 weeks asking Americans to trust them. Institutions will do the same. 

But both are starting with the wrong approach. Instead of seeking to persuade people to trust them, they should ask who is already trusted, how they earned it, and what we can all learn from them. There is a big difference between asking for trust and earning it.  

As a child growing up in Saginaw, Michigan, I watched candidates for office visit our church seeking the support of my pastor, Rev. Roosevelt Austin. Rev. Austin was the kind of person people turned to, not simply because he was our pastor, but because he had spent years showing up for people and earning their confidence. His influence extended well beyond the walls of our church.   

But Rev. Austin was careful with his endorsement. He knew it meant something.  When he told his congregation that a candidate was worthy of their trust and their votes, they listened.  I did not have the language for it then, but I was watching what it looked like when someone had truly earned the confidence of a community.

So who is trusted? What do they do differently?  Why do people trust them and not others who are, perhaps, better known in the community? Positions of authority don’t necessarily come with the automatic trust of others. Someone can have a big job or an impressive title and still have little influence where it matters. And influence is not the same as trust. Some of the people we trust are able to connect with people whose views, backgrounds or values differ from their own. The broader question invites more introspection. What lessons do trusted people have to teach us?

These questions are critical. Confidence in institutions is at historic lows. Of 28 countries, the Americans rank as having among the lowest trust in institutions, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report. In a survey published in July, Gallup revealed that American trust in institutions such as Congress, public schools, the media, the presidency, and big business is near a four-decade low. 

Individuals don’t fare much better than institutions. When asked if most people can be trusted, the majority said no. Only 34 percent said yes, according to a Pew Research Center Survey of 2023-2024.

This is worrisome; trust is the glue that binds communities, neighborhoods and democracies together.  It is hard  to work with those you don’t trust. And in a democracy, we all have to work together sooner or later.  People who trust others are far more likely to help a neighbor, to conserve water if government asks, or to bring a meal to a sick friend.  And a lack of trust is also linked to increased levels of isolation, the disease of our time.  It isn’t good for us or our civic life.  

But those numbers can obscure something important. Trust has not disappeared from

American life; it has moved closer to home. We still place confidence in people like Rev. Austin, coaches, teachers, parents, volunteers, and neighbors. In surveys, the people most trusted are often nurses, elementary school teachers and firefighters. They may not hold much formal authority, but they have earned the confidence of the people around them.

In my work at Weave, I meet people like this all the time. Like my childhood pastor, they often hold no elected office and lead no large companies.  But they have influence because people know them, have watched them show up, and trust them. And they share some characteristics in common. 

They show up when there is no spotlight and no obvious benefit to themselves. They listen before deciding what people need. They keep their word. They remain present after a crisis has passed. They connect people who may have little in common and help them find a way forward together. ether or not they have much in common. They use whatever influence they have for the benefit of the community rather than to elevate themselves.  In short, they do not need to request trust. It is the accumulated result of how they live and act.

Government, philanthropy, business, media, and national organizations often enter communities asking people to trust them. Instead, they should begin by identifying the people who already hold that trust, listening to them, investing in their work, and being careful not to disrupt the relationships that make them effective.  They should engage with citizens who are already grappling with societal challenges and support their efforts – rather than pushing them aside with what outsiders assume they know. 

America does not have a shortage of trustworthy people. We may have a shortage of individuals and institutions willing to recognize them, learn from them, invest in them, and place real trust in their hands.   We spend a great deal of time asking communities to trust our institutions.

Perhaps rebuilding trust also requires institutions to trust the people who have already earned the trust of their communities.

The post <strong>We are asking the wrong questions about trust</strong> appeared first on Aspen Institute.