What does it look like when leaders and their teams are in perfect alignment on trust, down to the decimal? In this episode, David Spickard and Rob Shields dive deep into one of the most compelling findings from 11 Ten Leadership's State of Leadership Report: trust scores that were identical between leaders and their teams, and what that means for building a thriving culture.

The conversation gets practical fast, exploring what happens when leaders get stuck in the weeds of day-to-day execution, why leaving the office might be the single best thing a leader can do to build trust, and the rhythms that make that sustainable. If you lead a team and want to know where trust really comes from and how to find out if you actually have it, this episode is for you.

00:00 – Welcome

01:00 – Why this conversation matters (State of Leadership Report)

03:30 – The highest scoring leadership question

05:00 – Care vs. thriving: where leaders overestimate impact

08:30 – Trust data insights: high scores + zero gap explained

11:00 – How trust impacts relationships, value, and engagement

14:00 – The danger of leaders stuck “in the weeds”

17:00 – First step out of overwhelm: creating space to think

19:30 – Why rhythms (daily, weekly, monthly) matter more than breaks

21:30 – The surprising trust-builder

24:00 – Practical takeaway: how to assess and grow trust today

26:00 – Closing thoughts + preview of next episode (health)

Resources

• 11 Ten Leadership
• 2026 State of Leadership