As trust in institutions continues to erode, businesses remain among the few voices people still believe in, yet many are staying silent. In The Courage Gap, Leilani Latimer urges leaders to step forward with conviction and redefine what principled leadership looks like in a divided world.
Study after study shows that trust in institutions, government, and media is eroding. That same data reveals that corporations have emerged as the most trusted entities in society.
Businesses have an opportunity to step into this vacuum and to stand up for the values their organizations were built on. Courageous leaders must answer that call by increasing Trust, providing space for Truth, and setting a Tone of principled leadership for 2026 and beyond.
We are retreating into silos. According to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, 70% of respondents across 28 countries are hesitant or unwilling to trust anyone who differs from them in their core values, the facts they believe, or their lifestyle. This insularity is not just a societal trend; it is dividing the very teams businesses depend upon. In fact, 42% of employees say they would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values.
The demand for principled leadership is at an all-time high, but supply remains dangerously low. The 2026 State of Moral Leadership in Business report found that 94% of employees surveyed believe the need for moral leadership is more urgent now than ever. When that leadership shows up, the data is striking.
Employees in organizations led by moral leaders are 14 times more likely to engage in open dialogue with colleagues across differences, 18 times more likely to voice disagreement without fear of retaliation, and 20 times more likely to try new ideas.
The workplace may be one of the last remaining spaces where individuals from every background, socio-economic status, and political leaning still congregate for a common purpose.
Where is the collective voice of business right now? Industry associations and business coalitions have the power to move markets, but they have been conspicuously silent on the very insularity and division eroding their workforce and their markets. These groups represent thousands of companies across every sector of the economy. They have the convening power to shape public discourse, set standards, and model collaboration across differences. That power is going unused.
Here are three bold actions for courageous companies ready to lead now:
Corporate political spending has exploded from under $5 million in 2006 to over $1 billion in 2024. This isn’t just a rise in spending, it is a collapse of transparency. Previously, companies used employee-funded PACs for political donations, and these were transparent, limited, and voluntary. Now, companies use general treasury funds, the profits generated by customers and the capital of shareholders, to fund political agendas. In doing so, they undermine the very trust they depend upon. Employees and customers are left wondering whose interests their company is really serving.
The Action: Return political donations to voluntary, transparent, employee-funded PACs
If companies and their employees want to support candidates, let it be through voluntary, transparent PACs. Issue-based advocacy can continue, but partisan treasury-funded spending should end. Today’s workforce is diverse in every dimension, including politically. When corporate funds flow to partisan causes, it signals that some stakeholders’ values matter more than others. The escalation of corporate political spending has become an arms race that serves no one. Stepping back should not be seen as a sacrifice but rather a strategic reset.
2. Repurpose the Commons
Every election cycle, millions of Americans face a simple but consequential barrier: getting to a place to vote. Rural polling stations can serve areas of over 60 square miles. Even in cities, limited locations and long lines discourage participation. Yet the private sector already has what the public sector lacks: proximity. 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart. 85% live within 10 miles of a CVS. Businesses have the physical footprint to guarantee access to free and fair elections.
When access was at its worst during the COVID pandemic, businesses stepped in. 23 NBA teams turned their arenas into voting centers. More than 60 Civic Alliance members recruited poll workers and offered voting spaces.
But access is only part of the problem. Confidence in the process itself is declining. Many Americans trust their own voting experience but doubt what’s happening in communities they don’t know. The distrust people feel toward government and toward those with different political beliefs doesn’t stop at the workplace. It extends to the ballot box.
The Action: Turn your space into a polling place
If an NBA arena can become a polling site, so too can a retail store. By partnering with local officials, businesses can offer polling spaces in locations people already know and trust; the stores where they shop, the businesses where they or a family member works. This does more than increase access. It turns a business into common ground, a place where voting feels familiar, accessible, and trusted.
3. Reskill for Civility
The days of leaving difficult conversations outside the workplace are over. Political divisions and culture wars have worked their way into every organization, and leaders are being called on daily to navigate issues they never anticipated managing. 59% of CEOs say the complexity of their role has evolved significantly in just the last five years. Yet the skills to have these conversations are disappearing across the workforce.
Younger generations grew up communicating behind screens, but this isn’t just a generational issue. Constructive dialogue and respectful debate have atrophied at every level. According to the Workplace Peace Institute, the result is an estimated $359 billion a year loss in employee productivity due to unresolved workplace conflict.
But conflict does not have to bring about negative results. When managed effectively, it can stimulate progress, deepen trust, and strengthen relationships, all of which enhance productivity and the bottom line.
The Action: Invest in conflict resolution as a core business skill
The playbook for this already exists. Consultative selling and negotiation skills have been taught for decades, and the core of that training is not winning an argument. It is active listening, understanding objections, and finding a path forward. These are precisely the skills every employee needs today, not just those in sales or customer success. By investing in these capabilities across the organization, a business can strengthen its internal culture and export civility back into the community. Employees carry these tools home to the Thanksgiving dinner table and beyond.
Business has the influence, the reach, and the platform to lead. What’s missing is courage. Now is the time to cultivate Trust, champion Truth, and set a values-based Tone for our future. What will you do?
Leilani C. Latimer, Board Director and Strategic Advisor to growth-stage companies and investors
