Executive Coach | Helping Leaders Turn Potential into Lasting Impact | Retired Executive (Warner Bros. Discovery & Amazon)
Is your organization an island of trust in a turbulent sea of uncertainty? In big companies, you can spot the islands if you know what to look for: those rare teams where trust flows freely, meetings don’t feel like interrogations, and people actually share information without a six-page NDA. At Amazon, I noticed that some organizations worked this way: small enclaves of healthy collaboration amid a sea of independence and duplication. They stood out. People wanted to work with them, and for them. These islands of trust didn’t happen by accident. They followed leaders who modeled it. Over time, the organization inherited that leader’s tone: open or defensive, helpful or territorial. It’s culture by osmosis. Amazon’s structure encourages independence to “own your destiny,” which is empowering, but it also breeds a kind of quiet distrust. If I can’t rely on you to deliver, I’ll just build it myself. The result? Redundant systems, duplicated effort, and the occasional turf war disguised as a design review. As a leader, you can’t control every current, but you can shape the tide around your team. Pay attention to how your organization interacts with others. Are you building bridges or walls? Because the health of your island, and the way others navigate toward it, depends entirely on the example you set. Trust is contagious. So is distrust.