Got a stakeholder who still thinks that DEI doesn’t impact the bottom line? This statistic might change their mind: over a third of Australians say they’d put “less effort” into helping a leader succeed in their business if they held different beliefs than they did.
Months after Edelman released its 2026 Trust Barometer, Ruby Anandajayasekeram wonders if business leaders and HR practitioners have spent enough time interrogating its insights and applying them to their own organisations.
“Edelman’s findings reinforce why leaders need to show up and actively build trust and inclusion to achieve the organisational performance and cultures they aspire to,” says Anandajayasekeram, who was recently the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Excellence Advisor at Shell and is speaking about polarisation in an AHRI webinar on 19 November, as part of DEI Week.
The business case for inclusion is not new, and Edelman’s report sharpens the workplace challenge. How can people deliver successful outcomes together if they don’t trust one another?
For Anandajayasekeram, building that trust starts with everyday leadership interactions guided by the 3 Cs: care, courage and curiosity.
The stark reality
Edelman surveyed almost 34,000 people across the globe and found that 70 per cent are hesitant or unwilling to trust someone who has different values, information sources, approaches to problems or backgrounds to them. In Australia, that figure was 73 per cent.
“Think about a workplace where 7 in 10 people hesitate to trust a colleague who is different to them. That has quite significant implications for how teams work together to deliver value and achieve optimal business performance,” says Anandajayasekeram.
The reasons for this move towards insularity are complex and varied. To understand its impact at work, Anandajayasekeram looks at the pressures people face both within and beyond their organisations.
Source: Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer.
“lt’s natural to turn towards familiarity when we’re surrounded by the fall-out of a global pandemic, misinformation, geopolitical tensions, discrimination, economic displacement and a cost-of-living crisis. At work, AI, transformational changes and mass lay-offs add further pressure. When an environment feels more uncertain, divided or threatening, that instinct can become stronger because familiarity feels safer.”
And as a society, we’re becoming more sceptical, hesitant and fearful of difference, she says.
“We go towards the things we know and away from the things we don’t know. That has been amplified in 2026.”
Edelman’s report also reveals a reluctance to work across differences in values and political beliefs:
- 42 per cent would rather switch departments than report to a manager who had different values than them; and
- 33 per cent say if their project team leader had different political beliefs than them, they would put less effort into helping them succeed.
“Assuming these findings hold true in your organisation, what does that mean for your productivity and performance, and more importantly, what are you going to do about it?”
For leaders, these findings make building inclusion (and trust) both more important, and more difficult.
“Leaders are trying to hold two things together: uniqueness and belonging. People need to feel their differences are recognised and valued; whilst also feeling part of something shared. That tension has always existed, but arguably feels more heightened now.”
Where to start? Try using the 3 Cs
As HR practitioners know well, there’s no simple fix to bringing together a deeply divided group of people. Building trust and inclusion in an organisation is a long-term commitment, one that pays off through sustained effort rather than one-off initiatives, says Anandajayasekeram.
“Trust is something that endures beyond the contractual employment relationship. That’s really powerful because the world works in circles, and we’re always only six degrees away from each other.”
And there’s a clear and strong overlap between inclusion efforts and building trust in organisations, she says.
“Edelman highlights that trust has gone local, and says to counter insularity CEOs need to focus on “brokering trust”. But what does that actually mean?”
She agrees that senior leaders play a critical role in role-modelling, building and sustaining healthy organisational cultures. And also notes Edelman’s insight that 72 per cent of respondents felt CEOs should lead by example by bridging divides and facilitating trust between groups of people who distrust each other.
“But only 36 per cent think CEOs are doing well in this regard.”
Anandajayasekeram’s suggested starting point is the 3 Cs: care, courage and curiosity. This simple lens can guide how we lead, communicate and work together – to bridge the gap between expectations of leaders and their actions.
“Elizabeth Broderick AO referenced these in her Everyday Respect Report, and the 3 Cs were also used at Shell. It’s about asking leaders, ‘How do you show care, courage and curiosity in your everyday leadership interactions and behaviours, and how do you practice it with your people?’
“Think about a workplace where 7 in 10 people hesitate to trust a colleague who is different to them. That has quite significant implications for how teams work together to deliver value and achieve optimal business performance.” – Ruby Anandajayasekeram
“I think why this has resonated with so many leaders across the globe I have worked with, irrespective of their background or culture, is because those words are understood by everyone without needing to have a training module or a guide.
“If you say to someone, ‘How do you show care to others?’ they’ll have their own authentic translation of what that looks like in action.”
Employers often assume that building inclusion must be a big, expensive program that’s rolled out across the business. But when resources are stretched and leaders face multiple competing priorities, simple behavioural nudges for managers, leaders and the broader workforce offer another, more meaningful and sustainable way, to build inclusion.
“The 3 Cs can be practised by anyone in any organisation, and I think if practised consistently, and at all levels, will ultimately result in stronger and healthier performance cultures.”
Among people who already trust someone who is different from them (only 22 per cent), respondents say this is the case because:
- They have an open mind and don’t try to change my views (49 per cent)
- They are transparent about how they differ from me (46per cent)
- They helped me in the past (24 per cent)
- They defended me when I’ve been criticised (21 per cent)
“These are all examples of the 3 Cs in action. That’s how you operationalise them on the ground.”
Broaden your consultation efforts
Insularity also shows up in what we read as well as who we trust. Only 39 per cent of respondents get news from sources with a different political leaning than theirs at least once a week, which is a 6 percentage point decline since 2025. In Australia, that number was just 33 per cent.
That narrowing makes deliberate consultation more important, says Anandajayasekeram.
Seven in ten people think CEOs should consult people with different values and backgrounds, and 69 per cent think leaders should constructively engage with groups who criticise or distrust the company when making business decisions.
“It’s always very, very helpful to have the perspectives of others, particularly those who are different from you. What does someone who might really dislike this HR policy feel? Why might they dislike it? What am I missing?
“[At Shell], before we rolled out key DE&I related global policies and communications, we’d test it with trusted staff from various roles and backgrounds before rollout. We’d say, “Here’s a draft. Tell us what you think. We value your opinion.”
“If you have spent time building trust and safety so people can speak up… I’ve always been impressed by employees’ generosity in sharing their perspectives on what they think could be improved or might be missing.
“HR has scope to bring more employee voice into shaping programs and policies, building employee buy-in and shared ownership of desired outcomes.”
Final thoughts on trust-building
Respondents in Edelman’s report felt that the best way to broker trust between a business and its people is to:
- Encourage people to cooperate or find solutions without taking a side (36 per cent)
- Supporting the position that is true to its values (27 per cent)
- Supporting my [the employee] position (14 per cent)
- Not taking a public position in the issue (12 per cent)
For HR practitioners, the tension is how to acknowledge difference without turning every
disagreement into a choice of sides. Anandajayasekeram describes what this can look like in practice through the 3 Cs lens.
When employees ask an organisation to take a public position on an external issue (which is an increasingly common issue faced by organisations), she suggests looking beyond the request to understand what support they need.
“We encouraged leaders to engage with care when the same incident left employees feeling differently, recognising that they might not always get it right. We also acknowledged it wasn’t easy for leaders to do this, and that it took courage from our leaders to engage further in the conversations.
“It wasn’t about taking sides. It was about listening to how someone was feeling, what they were thinking and showing respect for them, and asking them to show respect for others. Often, what they needed was acknowledgement and care, and that can come in many different forms,” she says.
“It also helped to partner closely with our employee resource groups, to understand experiences and concerns before they escalated, and to work together on viable solutions. We encouraged our leaders to do the same, because they were often best placed to address the issues raised.”
“Everyone starts from a different place. Leaders need to adapt their style to meet people where they are and lead them towards common ground. It’s not easy, but that is their role.”
As leadership becomes increasingly challenging, if there’s one thing that organisations need to maintain focus on, it would be to continue to build inclusive leaders who can broker trust in their teams, so they are best placed to navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
As a call to action for HR practitioners, Anandajayasekeram says: “Start with your next conversation with your leaders.”
“Ask them to seek views from people who are different from them, and practice the 3 Cs. Listen with care and curiosity. Then act with courage to make room for safe disagreement and constructive challenge to reach better solutions and business outcomes.”
🧰 HR’s career resource toolkit
- Event: Hear more from Ruby Anandajayasekeram and other DEI experts, including Fiona Davis CPHR, Jason Teoh FCPHR, James Hare MAHRI and Karlie Cremin, on 19 November for AHRI’s webinar ‘DEI in a Polarised World: Building Respect, Trust and Psychological Safety’, free to AHRI members.
- Course: Introduction to DEI for HR Practitioners
- Course: Advanced DEI practices for HR Leaders
