Why trust has become business’s biggest competitive advantage

Australia’s most trusted brands have something in common – and it’s not price, scale or technology.

It’s a competitive advantage that can’t be bought, copied or automated.

According to Roy Morgan’s latest Risk Monitor, Bunnings has retained its position as Australia’s most trusted brand for a tenth consecutive quarter, followed by Aldi and Kmart.

Meanwhile, distrust continued to rise across telecommunications, social media and parts of the technology sector. Companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence – including Google, Nvidia and OpenAI – recorded higher levels of distrust as Australians raised concerns around transparency, ethics and accountability.

For Mr Pace, the findings point to a much broader shift taking place in business.

He believes they reflect changing consumer expectations, with customers placing greater value on authenticity and businesses that consistently deliver on their promises.

Trust, he argues, is earned through hundreds of consistent interactions between leaders, employees and customers.

He points to Bunnings as an example of a company that puts its own people at the centre of its branding. Rather than using actors, the retailer, which has become synonymous with weekend sausage sizzles and DIY, regularly features employees in its campaigns, creating a sense of authenticity and allowing customers to connect with the same people they encounter in store.

"They are constantly using their own people," he said.

Those same expectations are becoming even more important as artificial intelligence reshapes the way businesses operate.

"As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable, I think trust is probably the one true competitive advantage that we have left," Mr Pace said.

"You can't fake trust. And you can't use AI to lead your people."

For decades, businesses have measured what is easiest to quantify – revenue, sales, productivity, utilisation and quarterly performance.

Trust is different. It develops through consistent behaviour and reliable leadership, compounds over time, and can be lost in a single interaction.

Mr Pace believes that creates one of the biggest blind spots in modern leadership.

Businesses often reward the highest performers without asking whether they are strengthening or weakening the people around them. The behaviours that build trust – collaboration, integrity, openness and reliability – rarely appear on a performance dashboard, despite shaping organisational culture every day.

"High-performing team members who have low trust are toxic team members. They fracture culture," he said.

Mr Pace believes performance is often rewarded because it is easier to measure than trust. Sales, revenue and productivity can be tracked against clear targets, while trust is built through behaviours that are far harder to quantify.

His view is supported by research from neuroscientist Paul J. Zak, whose work on high-trust workplaces found employees experience higher productivity and engagement, alongside lower levels of stress and burnout than those working in low-trust environments.

"People who feel trusted and appreciated will go above and beyond," Mr Pace said.

"When people don’t feel trusted and appreciated, they do the bare minimum."

Trust also underpins psychological safety.

Employees often continue saying yes because they don't feel comfortable admitting they are at capacity, allowing stress to build until it becomes burnout.

Without trust, difficult conversations never happen. With trust, employees are more likely to ask for help, raise concerns early and contribute ideas without fear of judgement, giving leaders greater visibility before problems become crises.

As AI-generated content becomes increasingly common, authenticity is becoming increasingly valuable. Consumers are becoming more discerning, placing greater weight on genuine human connection and brands whose actions consistently align with their messaging.

Trust, however, can be lost quickly.

Mr Pace recalls hearing activewear entrepreneur Lorna Jane Clarkson describe how years of brand building could be undone by a single poor customer interaction.

"All it takes is one person to break trust," he said.

"Everyone needs to be aligned."

For leaders, that alignment begins with clarity.

Rather than allowing short-term targets to dictate every decision, Mr Pace believes organisations should first define the purpose that guides their business.

"The compass was invented before the clock," he said.

"Where you're going is more important than how long it takes you to get there."

If trust becomes that compass, stronger performance follows. Employees communicate more openly, teams collaborate more effectively and customers become more loyal because organisations earn credibility through their actions rather than their advertising.

Ultimately, Mr Pace believes leadership is less about what an organisation says and more about how consistently it behaves.

"Stop trying to be remarkable and just be reliable," he said.

"Who you are will always be more important than what you do."