Why trustworthiness trumps reputation
Rachel Botsman
Leading expert on trust in the modern world. Author of WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS, WHO CAN YOU TRUST? And HOW TO TRUST & BE TRUSTED, writer and curator of the popular newsletter RETHINK.
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If someone asked you for three words to sum up your reputation, what would you say?
This is the question I asked the audience when I gave a TED Talk way back in 2012. On reflection, it was a rubbish way to open a talk!
Here’s why: reputation is what others perceive you to be. Reputation is a fickle thing because what people think and say (or write online) might be very different from who you think you are.
We often use reputation, trust, and trustworthiness interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing:
Reputation is what people say about you — the narrative
Trustworthiness is your behaviors — your capability and character
Trust is what someone gives you (or you give others). It's a belief that lives in the space in between.
Only one of them is truly in our control: trustworthiness, shaped by how we show up every day.
What happens when we stop managing our reputation and start demonstrating our trustworthiness through small, consistent actions?
I explore the shift in the full piece here.
Discussion question:
Who is the most quietly trustworthy person you know? What do they do, big or small, that earns your trust?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop them in the comments, or forward this to someone whose trustworthiness you want to celebrate.
Warmly,
Founder & CEO of Beyond the Barriers Academy – Turning Barriers into Breakthroughs with DEIB Consulting & Transformational Coaching. Follow for DEIB insights & mindset strategies for high-performance leadership.
1moLove this reframing Rachel Botsman Reputation is what others say about us, trustworthiness is what we choose to show up with. For me, it’s the quiet consistency that builds real trust, the ones who follow through, hold space, and lead with integrity, even when no one’s watching. Thank you for the reminder to lead from who we are, not how we’re perceived.
Member Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches. Marshall Goldsmith Certified Leadership, Executive & Team Coach. Global Leadership Coach. Helping Leaders Become The Leaders They Would Follow. Visionary Leadership Coach.
1moRachel Botsman This reframing is so important, Rachel🙏 We’ve mastered the art of appearing credible—yet often overlook the quieter design of actually being trustworthy. Reputation is what precedes us. Trustworthiness is what holds over time. One is a reflection. The other is a design. In our leadership work, we often say: trust isn’t just earned—it’s signalled by the system. Micro-signals—who speaks first, how disagreement lands, what gets rewarded—shape trust more than any values statement. The most quietly trustworthy people I know don’t try to “own” the room. They make space. They match word to action. Their consistency makes safety possible. Grateful for this prompt—and for the clarity you bring to language so many of us live with but rarely define 🙏🙏🙏
Technical Director Right to Dream / FC Nordsjælland
1moIf my trustworthiness is high I will probably have a good reputation if not hopefully my reputation will be a bad one😊. Trustworthiness is an important part of one’s Integrity
🔥 ‘Reputation performs trust. Trustworthiness performs virtue. But trust? That’s structural or it’s an illusion.’ In today’s systems, we celebrate leaders who ‘show up consistently’ and ‘demonstrate trustworthiness’ as if integrity alone can hold a culture together. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: 👉 If trust depends on individuals performing the right signals, it’s not trust, it’s choreography. 👉 If speaking truth carries a cost, the system is designed for reputation, not coherence. 🧠 Real trust isn’t granted. It’s metabolized by architectures that don’t punish honesty, even when the heat rises. So the question isn’t: ‘Who do you trust?’ It’s: ‘What kind of system would make trust so natural, we’d stop celebrating it?’ #BeyondStructure #NeuralOrgOS #Trust #SystemDesign
President of Sales at Fire & Gas Detection Technologies, Inc Middle East Branch
1mo"nobody got fired for buying IBM" is such a strong statement mode not by IBM. I would love that level of Trust and Reputation