Crumpled Paper Leadership: Why Broken Trust Never Fully Disappears with Jeff Geier
No More Leadership BS
Crumpled Paper Leadership: Why Broken Trust Never Fully Disappears with Jeff Geier
November 19, 2025
You know what nobody talks about in leadership development? The fact that trust is both the most important thing AND the most fragile thing you'll ever build. In our latest episode, we got real about what it actually takes to build (and rebuild) trust in leadership. No fluff, no corporate speak—just the hard truths about why your actions will always speak louder than your words. The "crumpled paper" analogy alone is worth the listen. Trust us. 😉

Trust: The Foundation That's Easier to Break Than Build (And How to Fix It)
Let's talk about the most fragile—and most valuable—currency in leadership: trust. You know, that thing that takes forever to build and approximately 2.5 seconds to destroy? Yeah, that one.

In this episode, we tackle a question that came from our recent session with the Project Managers Institute Inland Northwest chapter: What is trust, and how do you build trust that has been broken? Spoiler alert: it's complicated, it's essential, and no, you can't fix it with a simple "my bad."


The Trust Paradox: Earned or Given?
Here's the thing about trust—it's both earned AND given. You can trust someone all day long, but if they don't trust you back, you don't have a trusting relationship. You've got a one-way street that leads straight to Frustration Town. Trust requires mutual participation, consistent action, and a whole lot of patience.

The hard truth? Trust is the foundation of everything in leadership. Without it, people might do what you tell them, but they'll never actually follow you. They'll show up, clock in, and count the minutes until they can escape. That's compliance, not commitment.


The Crumpled Paper Lesson
One of the most powerful analogies shared: Take a clean sheet of paper. Crumple it up. Now try to smooth it out. See those wrinkles? That's what broken trust looks like. You can apologize, make amends, and work to rebuild—but the evidence of that break doesn't completely disappear. The relationship can still be valuable, even beautiful, but it's forever changed.

This doesn't mean broken trust is the end of the story. It just means the next chapter looks different.


Actions Always Tell the Truth
Here's where most leaders screw up: They think words matter more than actions. "I'm sorry if you thought I was rude" is NOT the same as "I'm sorry I was rude." The first puts the blame on you for having feelings. The second takes ownership.

People have built-in BS detectors. They'll watch what you do, not what you say. Be consistent. Be authentic. Be the same person on Monday morning that you are on Friday afternoon. Nothing destroys trust faster than a leader who's a different person depending on their mood or audience.


The Long Game of Rebuilding
If you've broken trust, buckle up—this is a marathon, not a sprint. Rebuilding trust requires:

One powerful insight: You can actually BUILD trust through failure—if you handle it right. Admitting mistakes, taking responsibility, and showing genuine care for how your actions affected others can create stronger bonds than if you'd never messed up in the first place.


The Trauma Factor
Not everyone comes to your team with the same capacity to trust. Some people have been burned so badly in previous roles (or life) that they literally don't know how to be cared for or valued. As leaders, we can't force people to trust us, but we can create environments where trust becomes possible. We can model trustworthy behavior consistently until those walls start to come down.

That's hard work. That's patient work. That's real leadership work.


The Bottom Line
Trust isn't built by grand gestures or motivational speeches. It's built through:

Remember: Do the best you can until you know better, then do better.


Tune in for:
Trust is the foundation. Everything else is just window dressing. If you're not actively building trust with your team every single day, you're actively destroying it. There's no neutral gear in the trust game.

Have questions,  suggestions or just a great story to tell about some Leadership BS you have experienced? Let us know by emailing us 

Today's Featured Coach - 
Jeffrey Geier - Motivational Speaker, Trainer, and Coach - Helping You Win in Work & Life  Owner/Founder of Phoenix Coaching LLC Reach Jeffrey at [email protected] or 509-553-9248


The rest of the gang: