What I’ve Learned About Trust By Dr. Rob McKenna

Trust is The Courageous Path to Change

We are living in a moment where trust is not slowly eroding but is collapsing in plain sight. In our politics, our institutions, our churches, and even in our own teams. People are wary, exhausted, and suspicious. We have learned how to manage, measure, and optimize almost everything, except the very thing that makes leadership possible: trust. And yet, this is not a hopeless moment.

Collapse exposes what is broken, but it also reveals what must be rebuilt. Cracks can become the very places where repair begins. If we have the courage, this crisis of trust can become an invitation to a deeper, more faithful way of leading.

Inspiring WiLD Trust

This is why I wrote Whole Leaders, WiLD Trust: The Courageous Path to Personal, Relational, and Organizational Change. The book is not a critique from the sidelines—it is a call to formation. Trust can be measured, developed, and repaired, but only if we are willing to look beneath behavior to the conditions shaping our lives, our teams, and our institutions. For those of us who follow Jesus, this is not merely a leadership strategy; it is discipleship in action.

On the surface, trust can look ordinary, like a working toilet or clean water. Most of us don’t think about it until it fails. But when it fails, everything falls apart. Organizations seize up, relationships fracture, and leaders either grow brittle or begin performing their way through the pressure. What I’ve come to see is that trust is not soft, sentimental, or optional. Yes, trust is personal, but it is also structural. It is the invisible infrastructure beneath every decision, every relationship, and every act of leadership.

The Possibility of Rebuilding

The hopeful truth is this: what is structural can be rebuilt. We are not stuck with the patterns we inherited or the habits we developed under pressure. Trust, though fragile, is also remarkably resilient when leaders and communities commit to repairing it with patience, humility, and intentionality.

As I’ve wrestled with this reality, I’ve also had to grapple with myself. When we are tired, anxious, or wounded, it becomes more challenging to trust our own convictions and nearly impossible to trust others. In those moments, we either harden our hearts or hide behind our competence. Neither path leads to the kind of leadership our world desperately needs. Faithful leadership requires something more: honesty that is clear and caring, vulnerability that is courageous but not reckless, and the humility to repair when we fail.

Hope Begins

This is where hope begins. Not in our perfection, but in our willingness to be formed. Leaders who are honest about their limits, open to growth, and committed to repair create space for God to work through them. Our brokenness does not disqualify us from leading; it can become the very soil in which wiser, more compassionate leadership grows.

Trust is not mystical, random, or permanently broken. It is a human and spiritual capacity that can be cultivated. When leaders take responsibility for their inner life, invest in their relationships, and shape healthier systems, trust grows. And when trust grows, so does human flourishing.

Reflecting Jesus

If we want businesses, churches, ministries, and all our organizations to reflect the heart of Jesus, we cannot avoid the hard work of rebuilding trust. That work begins within us, moves between us, and ultimately reshapes the systems we lead. The question before us is not whether trust matters, but whether we will have the courage to become the kind of leaders and communities worthy of it.

Never Alone

And here is the good news: we do not do this work alone. The Spirit is at work forming us, shaping our communities, and redeeming what is broken. Even in a fractured world, God is raising whole leaders – leaders who are humble, honest, and hopeful; leaders who repair rather than blame; leaders who build rather than divide. If we are willing to say yes to that formation, we can become part of the healing our world so desperately needs.

Dr. Rob McKenna is the founder of WiLD Leaders, Inc., The WiLD Foundation, and creator of the WiLD Trust Platform. His research and coaching with leaders across corporate, not-for-profit, and university settings have given him deep insight into the real and gritty experience of leadership — and what it takes to rebuild trust in complex, pressured environments.

Dr. Rob McKenna takes the stage for the Outcomes Conference 2026. Come, listen, and Learn!