Trust in institutions and leaders is on the decline. That's bad news for organizations navigating difficult times. How can companies build trust, and can you repair it once it's been broken? Professor Bill McEvily joins the season premiere of the Executive Summary podcast to explores those questions and more.

Show notes:

[0:00] Trust in institutions, businesses and CEOs is on the decline.

[0:33] Meet Bill McEvily, a professor at the University of Toronto, and an expert in trust-building

[1:42] What is trust, exactly?

[2:46] What are the three dimensions to trust?

[4:02] What role does trust play in a workplace (and why is it handy for dealing with chaotic times)?

[5:46] What breaks trust?

[6:15] What are examples of companies breaking your trust?

[7:39] What are the consequences when a company breaks people’s trust?

[8:24] There is no magical formula for repairing trust once it’s been broken. But consistently delivering on your stated and unstated promises is a good start.

[9:15] Communication is really important for trust-building.

[11:21] How do you build trust when you aren’t directly connected to an individual? In comes Bill’s concept of “prismatic trust”

[12:26] Organizations can learn from EZ Trade, which has systems in place specifically designed to help instill trust in people you’ve never met.

[13:14] So what signals are you, as an organization, sending about who, and what is trustworthy?

[14:18] “It's important for people to understand that there are mechanisms for ascertaining trust, even when we don't have the ability to know people personally, and that, I think, is necessarily our future is collaborating with people that are really distant from us and relying on people that are really distant from us. Human beings are ingenious in figuring out how to trust strangers. But therein lies the paradox of that you open yourself up to harm, I think of it as an innately human thing. So it's not just something that's important in terms of running a business or any kind of organization. It's just how human society functions.”

Season 4 launches September 9 — don’t miss it.

In today’s noisy world, finding clear, credible insight isn’t easy. That’s where the Rotman Executive Summary comes in. In less than 20 minutes, we bring you sharp, research-backed ideas from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management — Canada’s leading business school.

This season, we’re tackling the questions leaders are asking right now:

• How can organizations rebuild trust when uncertainty is the only constant?
• What lessons from history can guide Canada’s economy today?
• Why more healthcare workers alone won’t fix our healthcare system — and what will.
• How to reignite creativity in your team, with evidence (not clichés).
• What can innovative companies learn from the #MeToo movement?
• What does the science say about persuasive writing?

Perfect for curious leaders, lifelong learners and anyone who wants to understand what’s really driving change in business and society. Listen between meetings, on your commute or over coffee — follow now so you never miss an episode.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

What can your employees' LinkedIn and Glassdoor activity tell you about a company's prospects? More than you might think. From competition for top talent to out-of-sync business prospects, these platforms offer valuable insights — but are leaders paying attention? Assistant professor Nan Li joins Executive Summary to unpack what employees are really signaling and why companies must start listening.

Show notes

[0:00] Are you listening to what your employees are and aren’t telling you about your company’s prospects?

[0:29] Meet Nan Li, an assistant professor of accounting at the Rotman School of Management who studies human capital – that is employees – and its impact on company performance.

[1:46] Big changes are coming to the reporting standards world. Starting in 2027, companies in the U.S. will have to disclose how much of their expense line items (think R&D, administration, marketing) is spent on compensation.

[3:22] This news makes Nan and other researchers excited, since it’s a goldmine of insights.

[4:00] The changes are long overdue. While once a company’s output and profits were driven by things like machinery and widgets – so that was a primary focus on reports; as we shift into a knowledge economy, employees are becoming the biggest asset.

[5:11] What are peer firms, and why does it matter when it comes to talent pools?

[5:30] LinkedIn is changing how we define peer firms.

[7:13] Why is it important to know that, says, a car company isn’t just competing against other car manufacturers for talent?

[8:29] Glassdoor reviews, specifically “employee business outlook,” is predictive of firm performance. A bad employee outlook will likely mean a bad earnings report down the line.

[9:46] So why aren’t company leaders and financial analysts paying attention to social media as a source of information?

[11:36] Certain types of labour costs are directly tied to future sales growth. More money into R&D translates into greater profit down the line, while fixed costs like administration can make it easy to grow in good times, but dampen growth in hard times, Nan’s research finds.

[13:34] Employees certainly pay attention to company earning calls, and adjust their own outlook on a company accordingly. So perhaps it’s time employers start doing the same.

[15:11] “All the information there is public. So as a manager or analyst, you can just sign on to Glassdoor, write your own review about your company. And there are some academics and also practitioners already noticed or recognize that we are kind of falling behind.” That’s because employees aren’t just workers; they’re insiders. They are on the ground seeing how your company is really performing. So maybe it’s time leaders start treating employees not just as assets, but as one of their most valuable sources of insight.