My Supervisor

If you’re a regular reader of the business pages, you probably caught the recent news that another CEO was sent packing for failing to live up to the rules of proper business conduct they signed off on for their outfit. Someone reported the transgression on one of those internal hot lines created to allow followers to blow the whistle when they suspect wrongdoing.

Of course, when the investigation started, the CEO denied any wrongdoing. Eventually he was done in by the facts. If you take just one thing from the case, perhaps it should be to appreciate how tough it is for anyone to own up to their shortcomings. Something to think about the next time you investigate an incident.

But that’s not the point of the story: it’s about credibility and trust. As part of their reporting on a similar case the month before (that time the evidence was found in a video gone viral) the Wall Street Journal wrote: “Workers have grown more disenchanted with corporate bosses in recent years. Lack of trust in what business leaders have to say has risen 21% since 2021… a bigger jump than in distrust of government leaders or media”.

Surprised by that?

Credibility and Trust

Time is the scarcest asset a leader has; trust and credibility are the most precious. Even though it’s commonplace to say someone “has credibility” the reality is that neither trust or credibility are possessed; it’s others who decide to “give” someone trust or credibility. For a leader, that’s a gift as good as it gets. 

But it’s a gift that must be earned. Gifts aren’t, so perhaps it would be better to describe it as a reward: do enough of the right things for a sufficiently long period of time, credibility and trust could be the by-product. But even at that, neither is guaranteed. 

That’s how it works. 

You know that and play the game of “Who do you trust?” all the time. Honestly, nowadays how much trust do you have for the media? 

You might find this hard to believe, but there was a time when the “most trusted man in America” was a news anchor, Walter Cronkite. That was back when the novelty of TV first brought his face into the living rooms, when you were lucky to have three channels to choose. A half century later, Cronkite’s network paid millions to victims of their callous disregard for the truth. 

Thankfully, you’re not in the news and entertainment business, where it seems credibility and trust aren’t critical success factors; it’s all about the ratings. On the other hand, as a leader in business and industry, trust and credibility are essential to successfully influencing your followers, starting with causing them to work safely.

So, what do you make of the finding that the credibility and trust of top business leaders is eroding even faster than the media?

Organization Power

Once established, trust and credibility are two factors essential to wielding influence. Influence is one of those words tossed around in conversation, but rarely with reflection on its meaning or by operationally defining the term. Influence is a people process: things are not subject to influence, no matter how hard some might try. Those on the receiving end of the influence process decide for themselves whether to buy what’s being sold.

That makes it stunningly obvious as to who actually holds the power: it’s the buyers.

Influence is half of the equation defining what we have come to call Organization Power. The other half is the formal power vested in the position of the leader. Move up the chain of command, leaders have increasing levels of formal power. i.e., the ability to determine the outcome. In our common vocabulary, that defines control. 

In an organization, a leader’s Organization Power is the sum of their control and influence; their formal power and their informal power. Please don’t go jumping to the conclusion that influence is the only kind of power that matters to sending everyone home, alive and well at the end of every day. 

When Paul O’Neill was presented as the new CEO at Alcoa, he announced to the world his single most important goal: “Nobody gets hurt, not even a scratch.” As CEO, the goal was his to determine. So was whether to walk the talk, or as my Mother would say, “put your money where your mouth is.”

On the other hand, earning the trust, respect, and credibility of tens of thousands of his good followers at Alcoa – aka, wielding influence – was a process that began with those words.

Understanding Influence

Consider the leaders you’ve worked for over the course of your career, in particular those who have held familiar positions in the organization hierarchy like Department Head, Site Leader, Vice President of Operations, Division President, and CEO. Every incumbent of a similar position – Site Leader, for example – had virtually the identical formal power. Could the same be said for their informal power, aka, their influence?

Absolutely not! 

Most of what we teach and write about leading and managing safety performance comes from first-hand observation of leaders, comparing and contrasting their leadership practices. It’s not the least bit difficult to sort the most influential leaders from the rest and it’s not that big a lift to identify the differences that make the difference. Those differences are largely found in their practices, in particular the ones that really matter. Those practices can be defined and described; taught and learned; practiced well, poorly, or not at all.

Hate to disappoint, but those best practices aren’t always aligned with what’s taught in business schools or corporate training programs the world over. Nor are they typically the next big thing making the rounds at all the safety conferences. 

It’s worth your time to read Charles Duhigg’s account of Paul O’Neill’s practices at Alcoa, found in his book The Power of Habit. Two decades removed, Duhigg explains the genius in O’Neill’s strategy: the relentless pursuit of a goal no one can disagree with – safety – and in so doing the creation of a set of core behaviors that spill over into all the other business processes. Successful execution produced both incredible safety and business performance at Alcoa.

By the way, Paul O’Neill was a compulsive list maker, of those core behaviors Duhigg calls a “keystone habit.”

That process was no different than what I was schooled on a decade before: obsessing on safety was the best way to drive business performance.

Who Do You Trust?

Back to the survey: what do you make of the decline of trust in top executives? 

If you’re like me, you start with the corporate leaders you know personally. “I know our CEO, who I find trustworthy and credible.”  I did the same test. Over the decades I’ve spent quality time with dozens of top executives: in classrooms and board rooms; in business meetings, business dinners, and even at a wedding rehearsal dinner, where I sat next to one of the biggest names in business. I haven’t found one who wasn’t credible and, by all appearances trustworthy.

So, where’s the disconnect?

By now it should be rather obvious: knowing people changes our perception of those people. Yes, there are those we know from first-hand experience to be hypocrites, charlatans, and con artists: trust them not. On that, leaders are not any different.

The first behavioral psychology study I ever read was done at a kid’s summer camp. Unbeknownst to the campers, several of their counselors were actually PhD’s conducting field research. They’d ask, “What do you think about the kids in your bunkhouse? What do you think about those kids staying in the bunkhouse on the other side of the lake?” 

The findings were all so predictable: a classic case of “us guys” versus “those guys.” Trust and credibility are typically by-products of a personal relationship, where behavior can be directly observed over time. It’s all those people we don’t know who can’t be trusted. 

As for Walter Cronkite, coming into the homes every evening and with the newness of TV, over time he became what seemed like a friend who could be trusted.

My Supervisor

The general public may have its view of top executives; how people view their immediate supervisor’s trust and credibility is an entirely different matter. Over decades multiple surveys have consistently found by wide margins the immediate supervisor to be the most trusted and credible member of management. 

Why would anyone expect otherwise? The boss often came from the ranks of their former peers; they’re a familiar face; there’s a proven track record observable by their direct reports. That creates trust and credibility, making “my supervisor” a powerful and influential leader.

If you’re their supervisor, you should take full advantage of your power. If you’re a leader well up in the chain of command, the path of least resistance is to take full benefit of the natural built-in advantages your front-line leaders possess.

Let them do the heavy lifting for you. 

Paul Balmert
September 2025