Trust used to be the benefit of the doubt. Now it is the battle to be won.

Recently, I asked a CEO client why she didn’t want to speak on a panel her team had been invited to. Her answer? “I’d rather the company speak for itself. I don’t want to make it about me.” That hesitation is common. Many leaders assume visibility is self-serving. But today, staying behind the scenes isn’t humility. It’s a risk.

When nearly 70% of people believe business leaders intentionally mislead the public, credibility and trust, not marketing, has become the new currency. We are leading in an era when silence is interpreted as indifference and visibility is mistaken for vanity. That tension has paralyzed many executives who want to do the right thing but do not want to appear self-promotional.

I have spent more than a decade helping CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs turn visibility into a strategy rather than a stunt. The most successful ones have mastered five internal shifts that rebuild trust from the inside out. None of them requires a massive budget. All of them require courage.

Many leaders still assume that the company should speak for them. That used to work when audiences trusted corporations implicitly. Today, people look for the human behind the logo. According to Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer, business remains the most trusted institution, yet that trust is now tied directly to individual leaders.

Visibility is not about ego. It is about accountability. When you put your name to your mission, it tells employees and customers that you believe........

© Fast Company