“If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.” Barack Obama
“You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible.” Anton Chekhov
Here are the results of a 2023 Gallup Poll Survey on Institutional Trust. The numbers represent the percentage of people in the United States who have a great deal of trust in the institutions that affect our lives compared to 1990.
|
U.S. Institutions |
2023 |
1990 |
|
Business: |
|
|
|
Small business |
29 |
32 |
|
Medical system |
13 |
16 |
|
Large technology |
11 |
NA* |
|
Banking |
9 |
13 |
|
Big business |
5 |
9 |
|
Law and Order |
|
|
|
The military |
32 |
37 |
|
The police |
19 |
22 |
|
The Criminal Justice System |
6 |
6 |
|
Education |
|
|
|
Higher education |
17 |
NA |
|
Public schools |
11 |
21 |
|
Organizations |
|
|
|
Organized religion |
13 |
33 |
|
Organized labor |
12 |
11 |
|
Government |
|
|
|
Supreme Court |
11 |
19 |
|
Presidency |
10 |
38 |
|
Congress |
4 |
9 |
|
News Sources |
|
|
|
Scientists |
23 |
NA |
|
Newspapers |
6 |
15 |
|
Television news |
5 |
19 |
*NA = Not Available
Whew. If Chekhov is right that life is impossible without trust, it looks like we are in deep trouble. If you go to the Gallup link above to see all the data, you will notice that I only posted the results for a great deal of trust. If you add “quite a lot of trust,” the numbers aren’t nearly as shocking, but still . . . . If you look at the historical trends, it’s not an encouraging picture. In short, trust is diminishing among almost all institutions.
I have discussed the three types of trust and building trust in previous posts, but the radical decline in levels of trust over the past several decades prompted me to revisit the subject. For example, in 1958, over 70% of the population trusted the government to do what was right just about always or most of the time; in 2023, that number had dropped to 4%. What happened?
For me, the biggest reason for the decline in institutional trust is the replacement of tested truth with nonsense narrative that’s not grounded in science, expertise, or evidence. For many people, it no longer matters what the facts are, what science documents, or what honest history reveals. What gets our attention is what technology companies claim, what big business professes, what television news sensationalizes, what religions proselytize, what far-right AND far-left extremists protest, or what the Supreme Court declares and defends.
But what’s behind this shift from truth to narrative? To me, the main reason is that we have marketing-driven organizations instead of leadership-driven organizations. Leadership-driven organizations have an inspiring purpose, sound principles, and clear priorities. The vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of the organization guide market messaging, resource allocation, technology investment, and day-to-day operations. Market-driven organizations have clever tag lines and catchy narratives, which often consist of dog whistles, gaslighting, and alternative facts but make for compelling conversation, if not convoluted conspiracies. It doesn’t matter if the messaging is not connected to truth or to a higher purpose; the goal is simply to get attention and persuade people to buy whatever product, pitch, or political position is being sold. All resources, technology, and operational investments are designed to amplify the message instead of actualize the vision.
Some outputs of a leadership-driven organization are efficient operations, effective products and services, and the advancement of the common good. Some outputs of a marketing-driven organization are increased power, profits, positioning, status, and control derived from effective messaging. The goal of many marketing-driven organizations is to create a meaningless movement that makes money for the moguls. The goal of most leadership-driven organizations is to create meaningful results that move people toward purposeful action. In short, when narrative trumps truth, we see declines in trust and positive outcomes; we see promotional buzz trumping product quality.
In the opening quote, Barack Obama says, “If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists—to protect them and to promote their common welfare—all else is lost.”
When I compare the last three Presidents, I experience a broad range of trust. I had a great deal of trust in Obama’s leadership AND his physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels of functioning. I had and have zero trust in Trump’s “leadership” or his physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual level of functioning. I have a good deal of trust in Biden’s leadership, a great deal of trust in his emotional and spiritual levels of functioning, and not a lot of trust in his future intellectual and physical levels of functioning. He has a big heart and a big soul, and he seems a bit fragile and fuzzy at times. Still, he definitely has my vote.
Some outcomes of Obama’s administration were a revived economy, repaired civil rights, revitalized institutions, and a resurgence of hope that change was possible. Some outcomes of Trump’s administration were chaos, divisiveness, severely damaged institutions, and a dissolution of international trust. Some outcomes of Biden’s first term will be stronger infrastructure, a stronger economy, rebuilt institutions, and much improved foreign relations. In my mind, those are the differences in outputs you can expect from marketing-driven organizations and leadership-driven organizations.
In my community in Michigan, I feel fortunate to be involved with leadership-driven organizations that have inspiring purposes, sound principles, and clear priorities. As I have referenced many times in previous posts, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy is my favorite example of a leadership-driven organization. Its purpose is to preserve and protect the land and water in this vitally important section of the country. It’s principles are not only rigorously articulated, but they are regularly measured to ensure there are no gaps between what they say is important and how things actually work on a day-to-day basis, i.e., there are no major gaps between their narrative and the truth. Its priorities and strategic imperatives are clearly stated and revised periodically according to changing conditions and requirements.
Yes, it is possible to rebuild institutional trust in organizations that are leadership-driven—organizations that mobilize their communities behind a larger purpose, that insist that their behaviors are guided and anchored with profound principles, and that regularly review and revise their priorities based on changing conditions.
I’m hoping we turn around the terrible trends we are seeing around the world regarding institutional trust. I’m hoping that, as a global community, we can co-create a higher purpose, agree on common principles, and commit to priorities that may save our planet. I’m hoping that in the Divided States of America we become more united. I’m hoping we can feel more trust in each other, experience more trust in our government, and do what is right as individuals, organizations, and governments. Finally, I’m hoping all of us are less seduced by false narratives and more devoted to solid truth. May it be so.
Also published on Medium.
Thank you Ricky!