What happens when the biggest barrier to effective leadership isn't your team, your strategy, or your organization—but your own self-doubt? In this episode of Trust Stories by Relate, Tom Keenan sits down with people and culture leader, executive coach, and founder Richard Hinton to explore one of the most overlooked leadership skills: self-trust. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience building teams, coaching leaders, and navigating major career transitions, Richard shares why trust starts from within. Together, they unpack how self-doubt shows up in leadership, the ripple effects it creates across teams and culture, and why vulnerability, psychological safety, and honest decision-making matter more than ever.

In this episode of Trust Stories, Tom Keenan sits down with Kristina Karcic (Founder Karcic Parnters) to explore how AI is reshaping the future of HR. For years, HR teams have known that people learn, communicate, and engage differently, but limited time and resources often forced organizations into one-size-fits-all approaches. Kristina shares why AI is changing that equation, giving HR leaders the ability to personalize communication, tailor programs to different employee personas, and create more meaningful workplace experiences at scale. This conversation is both philosophical and deeply practical. It is a reminder that trust is not built through messaging or performance. It is built through small risks, honest moments, and the courage to genuinely listen.

In this episode of Trust Stories, Tom Keenan sits down with Laura Hammond, Founder of The People People, to discuss why today's workforce is struggling with communication, workplace confidence, and other critical soft skills. They explore the impact of remote work, the loss of informal mentorship, and what leaders can do to help employees build trust, credibility, and stronger workplace relationships.

Why do so many leaders think they're communicating clearly while employees walk away feeling unheard? In this episode of Trust Stories, Tom Keenan sits down with internal communications consultant Pamela Kaye to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing workplaces today: the gap between what leaders say and what people actually hear. They explore how trust breaks down, why authenticity matters more than ever, the communication mistakes leaders continue to make, and what organizations can do to create stronger, more connected teams in an era shaped by AI, remote work, and changing employee expectations.

In this episode of Trust Stories, Relate Co-Founder Tom Keenan sits down with Charles H. Green, founder of Trusted Advisor Associates and co-author of The Trusted Advisor, to explore how trust has changed over the past 25 years and why it feels harder to build today. Charlie explains why digital communication, remote work, and declining institutional trust have chipped away at the natural ways we used to form trusted relationships. But he also offers an important reframe: while trust may be harder to build, the bar for trust-building behavior has dropped so low that small, intentional actions now stand out more than ever. This conversation is both philosophical and deeply practical. It is a reminder that trust is not built through messaging or performance. It is built through small risks, honest moments, and the courage to genuinely listen.

In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, understanding how to effectively integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into businesses is crucial. In this episode of Trust Stories, Tom Keenan sits down with Tey Bannerman, a former McKinsey partner turned entrepreneur, who shares his insights on harnessing AI for good while emphasizing the importance of personal branding and vulnerability in today’s corporate environment.  

In this episode of Trust Stories, Tom Keenan sits down with Kristy McCann, former HR executive, founder of GoCoach and SkillCycle, and one of the most candid voices in modern HR tech.   Together, they unpack why traditional employee engagement approaches are no longer working, from annual surveys and performance reviews to bloated systems that create more admin than action. Kristy shares what HR leaders actually need instead: real-time insight, better feedback loops, and tools that help people grow in the flow of work.   It’s a thoughtful conversation about employee engagement, trust, and what the next generation of HR technology should really look like.

In the first episode of Trust Stories, Relate co-founder Tom Keenan sits down with Noelle Mykolenko, CEO of Trusted Advisor Associates, to unpack how trust actually works in professional relationships. Drawing from decades of experience and the foundational Trust Equation, Noelle breaks down the four components of trustworthiness: credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation. Together, they explore why trust is often misunderstood, why it does not actually take years to build, and why being competent and dependable is rarely enough on its own. This conversation sets the foundation for the series and challenges common assumptions about trust in modern, virtual-first work. If you want to understand how trust is formed, measured, and strengthened in the conversations that matter most, this episode is the place to start.