Trust + Communication + Authentic Action are the oxygen for great cultures. How we communicate either builds trust or deteriorates it.
SHOW NOTES
Jason introduces Season 10 episode 39 of the podcast, How Cultures & Trust are Impacted by Communication. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.
We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with.
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us here
How Cultures & Trust are Impacted by Communication
In the contemporary workplace, communication is the defining metric of organizational health. It acts as either the oxygen that fuels high-performing environments or the toxic air that breeds disengagement and turnover. This article, based on a recent episode of The Thermostat Podcast with Jason V. Barger, explores the direct correlation between communication styles and the breakdown of employee trust. By utilizing Harvard’s research on logic, empathy, and authenticity, leaders can dismantle top-down, command-and-control habits and establish a proactive, two-way communication model essential for modern leadership in teams.
Executive Summary
A staggering crisis of trust is quietly undermining the modern workforce. Recent National Workplace Trends studies reveal that 57% of employees report distrust in leadership as the primary reason they consider leaving their organizations. Furthermore, Gallup data indicates that only 23% of employees currently trust their leaders and the future direction of their companies.
This massive engagement gap is not driven by compensation or benefits; it is a structural failure in how organizations communicate. On this episode of The Thermostat Podcast, Jason V. Barger unpacks why corporate culture is entirely dependent on communication. Trust and communication—when followed up by authentic action—are the oxygen of every great culture. When they are absent, toxic air immediately fills the void.
The Cost of “Allow Lingers” in Communication
Barger operates under a foundational maxim in culture shaping: What we allow lingers, and what we teach triggers.
In many organizations, toxic communication behaviors are allowed to fester. When executives rely on top-down, power-and-control methods—talking at their people rather than with them—employees quickly recognize that the workplace is a one-way street. This authoritative style teaches the team that their input is irrelevant, resulting in a culture where employees disengage, withhold ideas, and merely wait to be told what to do.
“If your communication style is talking at people, from the top down, using power and control methods to try to get people to do what you want them to do, then that will create a culture of disengaged people, where trust is often deteriorated.” — Jason V. Barger
Conversely, high-performing organizations recognize that proactive communication is required to trigger positive behaviors. They actively dismantle toxic lingering habits and replace them with policies and language that invite genuine, two-way interaction.
The Three Drivers of Trust
To repair broken communication pipelines, leaders must filter their messaging through the three primary drivers of trust, as established by Harvard research:
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Logic: People need to understand the why. When leaders clearly explain the reasoning behind a decision, trust increases. When decisions seem arbitrary or hidden, trust plummets.
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Empathy: True communication is a dialogue. Leaders demonstrate empathy by actively soliciting their team’s perspective. When employees feel their leaders genuinely care about their viewpoints and concerns, psychological safety is established.
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Authenticity: Teams have a radar for corporate spin. Leaders must be real, genuine, and transparent. If employees sense that information is being hidden or sugarcoated, they immediately withdraw their trust.
When an organizational message successfully integrates logic, empathy, and authenticity, it strengthens the ecosystem. If any one of those drivers is missing, the communication effort fails.
Four Habits of Exceptional Communicators
Transforming an organization’s communication structure requires implementing specific daily practices. The best leaders consistently execute these four foundational habits:
1. They Listen First
The greatest communicators are actually the best listeners. Instead of rushing to provide instructions, they adopt a posture of curiosity. They actively ask their teams what they think, what they feel, and what they hope for, uncovering the hidden opportunities to build trust.
2. They Communicate Clearly (and Repetitively)
Once a message has passed through the filter of logic, empathy, and authenticity, it must be delivered with clarity. In an era where employees are bombarded by digital noise, leaders must be concise and prepared to “rinse and repeat” core messages constantly to ensure alignment.
3. They Tell Value-Driven Stories
Data informs, but stories compel. The best corporate culture stewards extract and share real-life examples of their values in action. By highlighting specific stories where the team operated at its best, leaders provide a tangible roadmap for the future.
4. They Address the Unspoken Issues
Toxic cultures thrive on avoidance. Items that need to be addressed are routinely swept under the rug to avoid discomfort. Exceptional leaders have the courage to ask: What are the things we ought to be talking about that we aren’t? By making difficult topics mentionable, they become manageable, allowing the team to address conflict directly and stimulate progress.
“You not only have to make things mentionable, but you have to come to them with courage to say, how can we stimulate progress together?” — Jason V. Barger
Setting the Temperature
Communication is not a soft skill; it is the operational mechanism that dictates your team’s performance. By establishing transparent, two-way dialogue and confronting the organizational sharks lurking beneath the surface, leaders can breathe the necessary oxygen into their teams to navigate rapid change and competitive markets.
Questions to Ponder
To evaluate your communication strategies and calibrate your leadership thermostat, take time to reflect on these diagnostic prompts from the close of the episode:
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Where is trust currently being lost in your culture due to poor, top-down, or unclear communication?
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What toxic or unhealthy situations—or unspoken issues—do you need the courage to address with your team this week?
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What intentional strategies will you deploy in the coming months to actively listen, tell value-driven stories, and breathe good oxygen into your culture?
Is your team ready to become change-seekers? If you’re looking for further guidance on aligning your vision with action, how can we help you take that next strategic step? – Contact Us Now
Links and References
Ready to improve your corporate culture? Checkout TCL 2026 event this year and reserve your spot now. Visit Here
Follow @JasonVBarger on social media for even more insights and new video content.
For more insights and practical tips, be sure to check out Jason V Barger’s book Breathing Oxygen. This book dives deeper into the concepts discussed in this episode and provides additional strategies for fostering a positive mindset and effective leadership.
By incorporating these practices into your summer routine, you can breathe new life into your personal and professional endeavors. Remember, as Jason says, “The best leaders, teams, and cultures on the planet stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.”
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us at info@jasonvbarger.com
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Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.