Americans have stopped believing in nearly everything. Government, media, organized religion, schools, social institutions that once bound the country together have all lost public confidence. There is one glaring exception: the CEO.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer makes this clear. Seventy-eight percent of people say they trust their employer more than any other major institution on Earth. That is not a compliment to business. It is a call to action.
The leadership vacuum is real and widening. Religious leaders, government officials, educators, and media figures have failed to fill it. That leaves corporate leaders standing alone with a microphone bigger and more trusted than they have had in a generation. The question now is whether they will use it.
Jim VandeHei, the CEO of Axios, has outlined a framework for how business leaders can actually step up in this moment. It is not about CEOs becoming politicians or moralists. It is about recognizing that the business case for leadership has never been stronger, and that failure to engage carries real consequences.
What CEOs Should Do Now
The first principle is simplicity: tell the truth. Employees are hungry for honest direction about the economy, the company, and what job disruption will actually look like. CEOs can speak plainly in ways politicians cannot. They should start.
Artificial intelligence sits at the center of this moment. Most leaders are quiet about it because they are confused themselves. That silence is a failure. Employees need to understand what AI will do to their work, how the company plans to manage that transition, and whether leadership is serious about retraining and redployment. Transparency here is not optional.
Beyond the economic machinery, CEOs can model something Americans are not finding elsewhere: moral leadership rooted in character. Competence. Humility. The will to do hard things. Honesty. Hard work. Respect. Personal responsibility. These are not political statements. They are the foundation of every durable institution in history, and they are disappearing from American life precisely because no one in a position of influence is talking about them anymore.
The way a company rewards people matters. CEOs should abandon performative gestures and instead build systems that demand and reward competence fairly across the widest possible pool of talent. That is how free-market capitalism works at its best. It is also how companies attract and keep the most talented people.
There is another void worth filling. Schools dance around it. Social media mocks it. Young people are losing faith in America itself. CEOs can push back on that without becoming blind cheerleaders. Reminding teams how this country actually came to be, what it has meant to the world, and why it still matters is one of the highest uses of corporate leadership right now.
Finally, CEOs should think bigger than quarterly earnings. The greatest American companies were built with the country, not against it. That means engaging government as a citizen rather than a lobbyist. Building where it makes sense. Investing in talent pools that usually get overlooked: veterans, apprentices, people in neighborhoods most executives fly over. Running for the long-term interest of America, not the next earnings call.
The practical test is straightforward. Send the question to your inner circle: Are we leading, or are we just managing? Schedule an unscripted town hall to talk about the state of things, both in the company and in the country. Identify one smart investment in people and green-light it fast. Make it clear how it connects to your leadership philosophy.
None of this works if it stays at the level of words. Small actions at scale matter. Every CEO from a two-person plumbing shop to the heads of tech giants has the power to make people more engaged and more hopeful. Teachers, community leaders, and parents can help too. But right now, it is business leaders who have the trust and the megaphone.
Author James Rodriguez: "CEOs have never had more credibility than they do right now, and that credibility comes with a real responsibility to fill the void left by failing institutions."
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