Trust Unlocks Transformation

The Quiet Force That Moves Us Forward

I spent the weekend behind the scenes at GOA Connect, a gathering of some of the most influential people in the outdoor industry, and there’s one major takeaway that’s stuck with me all week.

I had the opportunity to listen in as C-suite executives and VPs discussed the future of the Outdoor Industry. The whole experience reminded me that the people in this industry are in it for more than just building a business or making a living. The industry is a reflection of our communities and lifestyles.

So what’s the takeaway? Relationships are woven into the fabric of this industry. Without communication and trust, it cannot move forward as the dynamic, vital group of organizations that empower us to adventure in nature. 

One might say I’m a relational hammer, so I see everything as a connection and relationship nail. That’s probably true, and I’ve worried whether that makes me biased. More and more, I think it makes me early to the conversation. Communication and trust are at the crux of almost every challenge I heard discussed at Connect.

What Happens When People Stop Believing?

Beginning with the pandemic, the Outdoor Industry has undergone more than one paradigm shift over the last five years, navigating a feast-or-famine cycle that has undermined or outright eliminated some of the most prominent brands, retailers, and trade shows in the space. And now AI brings another wave of change, one many of us are not fully prepared to ride.

Individual leaders can set bold ambitions, but their teams and industry peers need to know those ambitions are in everyone’s best interest. And they need a clear idea of how they fit in. Otherwise, people are left wondering, “But how do I know that benefits me?” 

At the core of that dynamic is trust. 

Before people rally to support someone’s vision of the future, they need to know they have a place in it.

The Erosion of Trust in a Time of Uncertainty

DDI’s 2025 Global Leadership Forecast found trust in immediate managers has dropped from 46% to 29% in the last two years. Trust in senior leadership teams holds steady at 32%. Less than one in three employees trust that their leaders have their best interests in mind. 

In a landscape marred by layoffs and cost-cutting initiatives, fear can narrow our scope of consideration. We start focusing more exclusively on our individual career prospects. Our colleagues and direct reports notice the shift to a more self-centered perspective, and our relationships inevitably suffer. 

So, how do we build the trust that’s necessary for everyone to align around shared goals?

It starts with trust on a personal level.

Building Trust on a Personal Level

If you’re still forcing your teams through trust falls and human knots, you’re doing it wrong.

These exercises assume trust can be built by performing collaboration, skipping past the emotional context, shared language, and transparency that are actually needed to build trust. They often fall flat and may even be counterproductive because they fail to account for power dynamics and interpersonal history.

If performative teamwork exercises aren’t the answer, what is?

Trust is built incrementally, in the way we treat each other day to day. The International Coaching Federation offers five relational skills that build trust on a personal level.

• Demonstrating Respect: We all experience things differently, and we can’t build mutual respect if we don’t mutually validate one another’s experiences of the world, no matter how radically they differ.
  What does demonstrating respect look like when someone completely disagrees with you?

• Understanding One Another: This means considering someone’s identity, experiences, and socio-economic context. We can’t fully understand one another without understanding how our unique lived experiences shape the way we perceive the world and interact with others.
  What are the unique experiences that shape how you interact with others?

• Adapting Language and Style: Mirror back the words and concepts your counterpart introduces. It shows you’re listening and that their perspective is valid. The best part is when they start to do the same for you in turn.
  In which upcoming conversation could you practice this approach?

• Supporting Emotional Expression: Individuals who feel safe expressing their emotions are more likely to share their thoughts, feedback, and ideas. Curiosity, creativity, and trust in spaces where emotion is normalized.
  What emotions do you allow yourself to share in work conversations? Which ones are not allowed?

• Being Open and Transparent: Sharing your intentions, emotions, and experiences signals you are who you appear to be. Again, the best part is when others reciprocate in kind.
  What’s an opportunity for you to show up more transparently?

These are all relational habits. Like any other habit, it takes intentional practice and reflection to feel natural. Which of these comes most naturally for you? Which takes the most effort?

Scaling Relational Skills to a Culture of Trust

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report Top 10 Skills list includes several emotional and relational intelligence skills. Four (arguably five) are people skills. 

These “soft skills” are anything but soft. They’re durable, evergreen, and increasingly essential to future-proof teams.

A culture of trust in a time of change requires:

• Leaders who invite and make space for open, straight-forward conversations across the org chart. They actively listen to understand what’s holding their teams back.

• Organizations meet uncertainty with curiosity. Leadership can set the example by navigating their own uncertainty openly, rather than pretending to have all the answers.

• Employees who understand why change matters and how they can contribute. Everyone needs to know their contribution is valued and necessary for the organization to reach its goals.

• Support and consideration for those under the most strain. Directors and Senior Managers function as the bridge between optimistic C-suite strategies and ground-level realities. Research shows they’re four times more likely than executives to name constant change as their top challenge.

Which of these comes most naturally for your organization? Which is missing?

When trust is absent, a domino effect often follows. Miscommunication, isolation, and burnout snowball into employee turnover. The most talented and knowledgeable people are usually the first to leave. With them, momentum and institutional knowledge are lost, resulting in even more misalignment, burnout, and attrition. Investors lose confidence. Margins erode. Innovation and progress grind to a halt.

This is what’s at stake when culture and trust are underprioritized.

How to Start

The good news is that trust doesn’t require a grand overhaul, and it’s usually not too late to start turning things around.

It starts small, in conversations between people who are willing to be real with each other, to show up fully as themselves. In times of fear or uncertainty, the brain’s stress response narrows our scope. We look for ways to control our environment, avoid risk, and prioritize self-preservation. Trust reopens us. It creates space for collaboration, creativity, and fun.

So take the next small step. Ask a harder question. Offer an unguarded answer. Share when you’re confused or afraid.

It’s slow, deliberate work. But what’s the point if we’re not having fun?