A roadmap for leaders to align purpose and strategy for long-term trust and value creation.

In recent years, news headlines have been littered with scandals across government, media and business. From high-profile cases of financial misconduct, sexual harassment, cover-ups, and bullying, to the controversy of NDAS, shocking stories of the Post Office Horizon and the infected blood scandals… The list is too long, damaging lives, reputations and stakeholder relationships, not to mention the bottom line.

Unsurprisingly, trust in politicians, businesses and media to behave ethically is at its lowest in four years.

At the same time, consumer expectations about what is socially, ethically and legally acceptable are changing. Regulatory and media scrutiny around compliance, ESG and DEI is intensifying. Demands for transparency are increasing. There is significant public anxiety about the ability of businesses and governments to manage innovation and digital advances safely and ethically. A new generation of workers is bringing high expectations for empathetic, values-led and inclusive leadership and for businesses to stand for something beyond profit.

For leaders, these repeated knocks to public trust and changing expectations come at a time of acute pressure to deliver results, impact and financial performance. While also being encouraged to innovate, meet rapidly changing customer needs and attract top talent through continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

The stakes for delivering performance – while restoring trust – have never been higher.

Why trust is good for business

Trusted organisations outperform their peers by up to 400%

When customers trust a brand they are 88% more likely to buy from them again

79% of employees who trust their employers are more motivated to work and less likely to leave

The case for implementing authentic organisational Purpose is more urgent than ever before

Against this backdrop, the case for authentic Purpose – that aligns corporate culture behind a clear set of values – has never been clearer. Over the past 12 years, brands with a strong sense of purpose have seen their value increase by 175%.

1. Purpose-driven leaders

For your people to live your Purpose every day, they need courageous leaders who curate cultures with trust at their heart.

To foster connection, leaders need to tirelessly communicate a clear vision about the role of Purpose and the importance it plays in the triple bottom line, showing people the ‘golden thread’ between their contribution and the organisation’s north star. They need to walk the talk in their behaviours, role-model the mindsets needed, and tell authentic stories to personalise Purpose, making it relatable and inspiring for employees. They must make it real by ensuring Purpose is tightly integrated into financial, strategic, risk and governance processes and practices.

With time, these behaviours build a genuine sense of belief and pride among all stakeholders about the value of Purpose.

2. Psychological safety and speaking up

When reputation-destroying scandals become public, the inability for employees to speak up is consistently named as a key ingredient for why poor conduct was able to persist, escalate and go unchallenged.

Companies with a strong ‘speak up culture’ are 50% less likely to experience misconduct and the public is calling for ​​more to be done to enable employees to speak out about company wrongdoing, making it a business imperative.

Those getting this right go deeper to co-design the organisational mindsets, behaviours, values and norms needed to ensure critical policies and standards are lived and upheld.

The foundation of this work is behaviour change towards a culture where providing challenge, raising concerns, speaking truth to power, bringing fresh thinking and taking risks are psychologically safe – for everyone. Leaders – particularly Boards and Executives – must genuinely listen to and appropriately act on the voices of their people to build a ‘speak up culture’, essential for good conduct, trust and long-term success throughout the organisation.

3. Connection and belonging

We still see cases of exclusion, harassment and discrimination eroding trust within employee and leader relationships. With 81% of candidates checking a company’s website for their stance on DEIB before applying for a job, your employer brand must reflect your employee experience to attract and retain top talent.

Once you enter a low–trust environment, you will see siloed mentalities, polarisation between homogenous groups, ‘Quiet Quitting’, low productivity, higher ad-hoc absenteeism and potentially more employee relations cases.

This is hard to build back from. The best way forward is for leaders to role model inclusive behaviours, acknowledge faults and act with humility as they endeavour to regain confidence and trust that you mean what you say.

Purpose-driven organisations build inclusive collaboration practices into the fabric of their organisation and capitalise on the unique skills of individuals, encouraging connectivity and partnership, and a sense of shared endeavour.

Leaders must foster an inclusive culture, beyond just the corporate DEIB programme, that allows everyone to speak up against misconduct, share ideas, bring value and build trust.

4, Empowerment, accountability and ownership

Purpose acts as a moral compass and north star, creating an ecosystem of trust between leaders, employees and stakeholders where ethical decision-making, good judgment, and long-term thinking thrive. It empowers individuals to make sound decisions even in the absence of explicit rules, fostering a culture of accountability and collective endeavour.

But in times of uncertainty, organisations all too often double down on rule enforcement, micromanagement and centralised decision-making for a sense of safety through control. This stifles innovation, experimentation, problem-solving.

For employees to act on the trusted relationships they build with their customers, clients, communities and colleagues, leaders must provide both the freedom and the framework to be successful.

5. A spirit of experimentation

Purpose-driven organisations are laser-focused on solving real and urgent problems. They know that the key to problem-solving in a way that builds trust is encouraging their people to test and learn, try different things without fear and experiment.

But for too long, experimentation has been consigned to innovation teams, R&D departments and the ‘disruptor brands’. For organisations to successfully innovate, adapt and evolve, leaders must be brave and ensure the opportunity to experiment is available to all.

With significant public anxiety about the ability of businesses and governments to manage innovation and digital advances safely and ethically, Purpose provides clarity, reassurance and inspiration about how innovation will be managed to deliver social good. So when new services, ways of working, experiences and technologies hit the runway, they’re trusted for their societal benefits and adopted with less resistance.

In summary

Restoring trust in today’s fragmented world demands purpose-driven leadership that goes beyond words. By embedding authentic values, fostering accountability, and encouraging innovation, leaders can align culture with long-term goals. The organisations that prioritise purpose will thrive, building trust, driving performance, and securing a resilient future.

How Kin&Co can help

If you’re grappling with how to ignite, energise and sustain a purpose-driven culture that embodies trust, contact Thomas Lassetter () to find out where you can start.

You can also read more in our Creating a Culture Fit for Purpose whitepaper.

About Kin&Co

Kin&Co are a disruptive consultancy specialising in purpose and culture-led change management.  We help leading global businesses, governments, and nonprofits use purpose, culture and behavioural science to supercharge performance, save costs and deliver on their strategy – to create a more sustainable, healthy and equal world, and make work better for all people.