Why Business Leaders Must Take The Lead In Economic Renewal, Building Trust

Now, more than ever, people are looking to business leaders instead of the government to turn the economy around. But to achieve success, leaders must engineer a path that is more holistic.

The Edelman Trust Barometer has been surveying and reporting on trust for the last 20 years. Their January 2020 report revealed a lack of trust across the four societal institutions measured–government, business, non-governmental organizations and media.

The biggest fear? Job loss.

With an estimated one in four Americans now on unemployment, that fear has not only been realized, but it is also compounded by a growing sense that those responsible for societal well-being cannot be trusted.

Business Leaders Offer Hope

“A majority of respondents in every developed market do not believe they will be better off in five years,” the report states. “Distrust is being driven by a growing sense of inequity and unfairness in the system. The perception is that institutions increasingly serve the interests of the few with government, more than any institution, seen as least fair.”

And that was pre-pandemic. 

What’s the solution? Leadership with the integrity to improve society as a whole.

“Business must take the lead on solving the trust paradox because it has the greatest freedom to act,” the report suggests.

Edelman is not the only group calling for business leaders to take the lead. TIME’S UP, founded by more than 300 women in entertainment, addresses gender equity issues across industries. Their recent report, Time’s Up Guide to Equity and Inclusion During Crisis, points out “the coronavirus pandemic has cast an irrefutable spotlight on social and workplace inequity – and places an urgent demand on employers to lead responsibly and with compassion.” 

TIME’S UP cites the importance of leadership investing in people first by renewing (or, in some cases establishing) commitments to employee safety, equity, diversity and inclusion.

“Prior to the pandemic, the business case for diversity was overwhelming and now is not the time to lose any ground. Staying invested in building a diverse and inclusive work environment will ensure you retain the best talent, avoid the high cost of turnover and exhibit the values that clients, customers and consumers want to see from businesses in these difficult times.”

According to the Edelman, ethical drivers are three times more critical to building trust than competence. If people’s biggest fear relates to work, business leaders can model ethics by ensuring equitable re-hiring as economic reopening occurs. As an example, measuring the demographic impact of layoffs and firings before looking at how to bring people back.

Minorities, women and people over 50 are impacted at higher rates than other categories. The intersection of these characteristics, minority women over 50, are the most vulnerable.

It’s Time to Reengineer the Future

What better time than now to release outdated processes and terminology that no longer fit society? As business leaders strategize on rebuilding the future, here are three realities that need to go.

• Using the applicant tracking system to auto-reject resumes if the applicant is considered too old or too experienced. Olders need access to work, too, because retirement is a reference to an out-dated system that is no longer applicable to the majority of people 65 and above.
• Paying women less than men for the same roles and responsibilities. This inequity creates a lifetime of economic disparity.
• Refusing to interview and hire someone because they are differently-abled, other gendered or because their skin is darker. Oppression of people in these categories has created a class of social inequality and deprivation.

What will ethical business leaders do to right these wrongs and to build trust?

Everyone Plays A Part

Headlines like the recent Washington Post The Unluckiest Generation In U.S. History, that points to the woes of those born between 1981 and 1996, does not solve problems. Instead, it subscribes to victim mentality, adding to the sense of loss, fear and disillusionment. 

As Bono said, “Real leadership is when everyone else feels in charge.” Leadership comes from everyone who shows the relentlessness and conviction to become the change they want to see. Or to demand it from those in the position to reshape the future.

Leaders who share a vision that the economy can rise above sickness, racism, sexism, ageism and all other forms of oppression to achieve a higher standard of economic fairness will become the engineers of the future. But it will be up to everyone to hold them accountable.