How CEOs Build Trust Without Speaking

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

Most leaders listen. Great leaders uncover the unspoken. 93% of communication isn’t in the words people say. If you’re only hearing words,  you’re missing the real message. Great listening isn’t about hearing. It’s about uncovering the pauses, the tone, the hesitations. Most people think they know what they want,  but true needs are often hidden behind words. That’s why great leaders don’t just listen.  They uncover what others are afraid to say. I used to think I was a great listener. Until someone told me, “You only hear what you want to hear.” That stung, but they were right. I wasn’t listening. I was waiting to talk. And it was costing me trust, opportunities, and relationships. When I started paying attention to what wasn’t being said, everything changed. Conversations went deeper, trust grew, and problems I didn’t even know existed started to solve themselves. The LISTEN Framework: L – Look for non-verbal cues. Body language, tone, and pauses. They reveal the real story. I – Interrupt less. Silence is your superpower.  Try asking, “What else is on your mind?” S – Summarize what you heard. “What I’m hearing is...”  Builds trust and clarity. T – Tune out distractions. Eye contact beats multitasking. Put away your phone. E – Empathize actively. Feel their emotions,  Not just their words. N – Notice the unspoken. What’s avoided or left out often holds the truth. Here’s how I’ve seen this play out: 1️⃣ Negotiations: A client hesitated when mentioning their boss. I asked, “What can we do to support internal buy-in?” That one question saved the deal, which we closed the next week. 2️⃣ Meetings: A fidgeting team member revealed a project risk when I asked, “What’s on your mind?” Their insight saved us weeks of rework. 3️⃣ Coaching: A client kept saying, “I just want to do better.” I asked, “What does ‘better’ mean to you?” They opened up about feeling overwhelmed. That conversation gave them focus and renewed confidence. Listening isn’t just a skill. It’s a strategy for trust and impact. The next time you listen, ask: What’s not being said? The answer might surprise you. What truth have you uncovered by listening? ♻️ Repost to inspire better listening. ➕ Follow me for more leadership insights.

This CEO kept asking how to get respect but he was asking the wrong question. He hired me to fix his executive presence with a new team. But what he really needed was to learn how to read the room. He'd just taken over from a CEO who'd been run out of the company. The team was in complete disarray. Trust was shot. Morale was in the basement. In our first session, he kept asking: "How do I get them to respect me?" Wrong question. The right question: "What are they telling me that I'm not hearing?" We spent two days together. Not on power poses or speech techniques. On reading the signals everyone was already sending. The VP who always sat furthest from him in meetings? Not disrespect. Self-protection from the last regime. The director who never made eye contact? Not defiance. Fear of being next to go. The team lead who talked too much in meetings? Not showing off. Desperately trying to prove their value. Once he learned to read these signals, everything shifted. Instead of demanding respect through authority, he earned it through understanding. He moved the VP closer, saying "I need your perspective up here." He caught the director's eye and nodded before speaking, signaling safety. He let the team lead finish, then said "That's exactly the thinking we need more of." Three months later, same team, completely different energy. Employee engagement scores jumped 40%. Voluntary turnover dropped to zero. The board noticed. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it." Here's what most leaders miss: Your team is constantly broadcasting what they need from you. But most executives are so focused on sending signals, they forget to receive them. The strongest leaders don't just project presence. They detect what's present in others. Master that, and watch your influence multiply.

40% of CEOs are introverts. They're running trillion dollar companies like Google, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway. Yet most leadership advice assumes you need to be the loudest voice in the room. The world's best CEOs aren't performing. They're processing. While others rush to speak, introverted leaders: → Use more prefrontal cortex (better long-term decisions) → Listen 80% of the time (3x more engaged teams) → Sustain deep focus for hours (4x productivity gains) I've coached hundreds of CEOs. The quiet ones consistently outperform. Not despite their introversion. Because of it. What society often says are leadership "weaknesses" are actually strategic advantages: That need for alone time?  ↳ It's when you solve complex problems others miss Your preference for writing? ↳ Creates clarity that prevents million-dollar mistakes Your small inner circle? ↳ Builds trust that shallow networkers never achieve Your tendency to over-prepare? ↳ Wins before you walk in the room The Quiet CEO Playbook: 1. Stop apologizing for thinking time  - Block 2-4 hours daily for deep work  - Your best ideas come in silence 2. Lead through writing first  - Send pre-meeting thoughts  - Let ideas marinate before discussing 3. Build your energy budget  - Know exactly what drains you  - Protect your recharge time fiercely 4. Create listening systems  - 1-on-1s over group meetings  - Anonymous feedback channels 5. Prepare like your advantage depends on it  - Because it does  - Information asymmetry is power The business world rewards the wrong things. Quick answers over right answers. Volume over value. Presence over impact. But markets don't care about personality types. They care about results. And introverts deliver results through: → Deeper thinking → Better listening   → Calmer decisions → Stronger focus You don't need to become an extrovert to succeed. Your quiet nature isn't a bug. It's a feature. The world has enough loud leaders. What it needs is more leaders who think before they speak. Who listen before they act. Who build before they boast. If that's you... Own it. P.S. Want a PDF of my Why Introverts Make Powerful CEOs cheat sheet? Get it free: https://lnkd.in/dNhDkyaJ ♻️ Repost to inspire a CEO in your network. Follow Eric Partaker for more leadership insights. — 📢 Want to lead like a world-class CEO? Our next cohort of the CEO Accelerator starts July 23rd. 30+ Founders & CEOs have already enrolled. Learn more and apply today: https://lnkd.in/duZeBbEf

24 years ago, I learned a lesson in a billion-dollar CEO’s office that stayed with me. The best leaders I’ve been around weren’t the ones who spoke the loudest or held the most authority. They were the ones who knew how to receive, the ones who could take in the full weight of what someone was saying, even if the words came out messy, heated, or uncomfortable. I watched as an employee came in, voice raised, frustration pouring out in sharp words that felt closer to an attack than feedback. I expected the CEO to shut it down, to demand respect, to set the tone. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, stayed silent, and let the man finish. When the room finally quieted, I asked him why he allowed it. His answer has never left me: “If I react to the delivery, I’ll lose the message. My job is to hear the message.” That perspective reshaped how I see leadership. Too many leaders are quick to defend themselves, quick to react to tone, quick to silence the discomfort. But in doing so, they often lose the truth that could have helped them grow their culture, their strategy, or their people. The real strength of a leader is not in shutting people down, but in creating an environment where the truth can be spoken without fear. And the connection is clear: when truth can be spoken, trust is built. When trust is built, performance follows. So here’s the lesson I carry forward: don’t waste your energy reacting to how feedback arrives. Your responsibility is to listen for the truth inside it, because that truth, not the tone, is what shapes a stronger team. #Leadership #Listening #Trust #OrganizationalCulture #HumanLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthMindset

Trust isn’t a value you write on a wall—it’s a practice. A discipline. Something we all crave to thrive. Daniel Goleman’s latest piece for Korn Ferry nails it: trust is fluid, emotional, and contextual. It’s built (or broken) through our everyday behaviors—especially when things are moving fast or feel uncertain. https://lnkd.in/grYJY5fM As a CEO, I’ve learned that “trust” can’t be demanded. It’s not a checkbox. It’s given—and it starts with presence, consistency, and the willingness to slow down. A few practices that have helped me build (and rebuild) trust over two decades of leading people: ✅ We use Moementum, Inc.s “Monthly Meetup” doc to open space for real conversations—about energy, meaning, and life, not just KPIs. ✅ We start our weekly 1:1s with “personal best / business best.” It’s a small shift that opens big doors. ✅ I learned from Bruce Tulgan early on that weekly 1:1s aren’t optional. They’re where alignment lives—or where it dies. I’m relentless about keeping them. I expect my team to show up prepared: top priorities, roadblocks, and where they need support. And here's the truth: I’ve been in team environments where trust was talked about, but not felt. Where it was risky to be real. And the result? Slower decisions, quieter meetings, and lots of second-guessing. In a world of hybrid schedules, shifting strategies, and AI transformation, what your team really wants is safety. Not perfection. Not certainty. But the belief that they are seen, heard, and supported. #Leadership #Trust #EmotionalIntelligence #1on1s #CultureBuilding #FutureOfWork #CaringBridge #KornFerry #BruceTulgan #MoeCarrick #WorkplaceCulture #monthlymeetups

40% of CEOs are introverts. And most people still think that’s a problem. We’re taught to see leadership as loud. Charisma. Volume. Swagger. Spotlight. But some of the most admired leaders on the planet—Cook. Nadella. Buffett. Obama. Aren’t trying to own the room. They’re trying to understand it. They listen before they speak. They stay calm when the room catches fire. They act with intention—never impulse. What makes introverted CEOs so powerful? Deep focus – They ignore noise and move with precision. Empathy – They listen, absorb, and build unshakable trust. Calm – They don’t just weather storms—they steady the team. Strategy – They’re already playing tomorrow’s game. I’ve coached dozens of CEOs who told me: “I’m too quiet to lead.” “I’m not wired like those leaders.” “I need to be more charismatic…” No. You don’t. You just need to be you—at your best. The world doesn’t need more noise. It needs more leaders who listen, think, and lead with depth. You’re not broken. You’re built for exactly this. Are you one of them?