Updated Nov 3, 2026
Soft skills are how managers earn trust
Trust in managers just hit a record low. According to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work, 72% of employees trust their manager, down 7 points since 2024. Trust in coworkers fell even further, down 9 points to 73%.
Here is the twist. Managers are still the most trusted voice in the building. When employees were asked who they would trust to tell them the truth about workplace change, "my manager" came first at 39%, ahead of the CEO, coworkers and HR.
So the opportunity is sitting right there. Your people want to trust you. The question is whether your everyday behaviour gives them a reason to.
That is what soft skills really are. They are not "nice to have" extras on top of the real job. They are the small, repeatable behaviours that tell people you care, you mean what you say, you will follow through, and you know what you are doing.
At KindCo we use Charles Feltman's four distinctions of trust: Care, Sincerity, Reliability and Competence. Below are the 8 soft skills every manager needs in 2027, two for each distinction, with what the data says and one thing to try this week.
A manager meeting a new teammate.
Why 2027 is different
Work is changing faster than most teams can absorb. 76% of employees went through at least one major workplace change in the past year, and 42% went through three or more. AI integration topped the list, followed by strategy shifts, culture shifts and layoffs.
How managers handle that change is where trust is won or lost. After a positive change experience, 85% of employees trust their manager. After a negative one, that drops to 60%. AI can draft the announcement. It cannot make someone feel heard. Edelman found human managers still outperform AI on making employees feel valued.
The 8 soft skills every manager needs in 2027
| Trust distinction | What people are asking | Soft skills that answer it |
|---|---|---|
| Care | Do you have my interests in mind? | 1. Empathy 2. Listening |
| Sincerity | Do you mean what you say? | 3. Honest communication 4. Bridging difference |
| Reliability | Will you do what you said? | 5. Following through 6. Extending trust |
| Competence | Can you actually lead me through this? | 7. Leading through change 8. Coaching for growth |
Care: do you have my interests in mind?
1. Empathy (emotional intelligence in action)
Empathy is noticing what someone is feeling and saying it out loud before you jump to the plan. During workplace change, 64% of employees want their CEO to acknowledge what employees are feeling, rather than focus only on the business case. Managers are usually the ones who carry that message to the team in person.
Try this: Before your next team update, open with one sentence naming how the news might land. "I know this is the third change this year, and that's tiring."
2. Listening (and showing you heard)
Employees, especially frontline staff, want two-way conversation, not one-way announcements. When people described a change that went well, "my concerns were listened to" was one of the reasons. Listening only builds trust when people can see what happened to what they said.
Try this: End 1:1s with "What's one thing you told me today that you want me to act on?" Then report back on it next time.
Sincerity: do you mean what you say?
3. Honest communication, especially when you don't have all the answers
There is a 33-point gap between how executives and frontline employees see leadership honesty. Only 46% of associates believe management always tells them the truth, compared with 79% of executives. And 57% of employees want their CEO to share what they do and don't know for certain.
People can handle "I don't know yet." What breaks trust is pretending to know.
Try this: Use three buckets in your next update: what we know, what we don't know yet, and when you'll hear more.
4. Bridging difference (inclusion and conflict skills)
Comfort talking with coworkers who see the world differently is dropping. After a bad change experience, trust in coworkers with different values falls by about 27 points. Managers are the ones who keep a team from splitting into camps.
Try this: When you sense tension, lead with curiosity over judgment. Ask "Help me understand how you're seeing this" before sharing your view. And invite the quieter voices in, by name, in a low-pressure way.
Reliability: will you do what you said?
5. Following through on commitments
The number one reason employees gave for a bad experience of workplace change was simple: more work without more pay. The top reason for a good experience was a more manageable workload. Reliability is not only keeping your promises. It is being careful about what you ask of people, and saying so clearly when something has to give.
Try this: When you add a task to someone's plate, ask "What comes off?" If nothing can, say so out loud and name when that will change.
6. Extending trust
Trust runs both ways. Only 75% of employees feel trusted by their manager, down 7 points. Among employees who feel trusted by leadership, 89% trust their manager. When you show people you trust them, they tend to return it.
Try this: Pick one decision you usually make yourself and hand it to the team this month. Tell them why you trust them with it.
Competence: can you actually lead me through this?
7. Leading people through change
This is where adaptability lives now. 42% of employees went through three or more workplace changes last year, and for workers aged 18 to 34 that number is 53%. Employees who had a good experience of change showed 32 points more intent to stay long-term than those who had a bad one. Edelman's advice is to explain what change means for each person, not issue a blanket mandate. That is a manager's job.
Try this: After any big announcement, have a short 1:1 with each person: "What does this mean for you, and what do you need from me?"
8. Coaching for growth
We heard this first-hand. At our People Leaders Lab event, Shrinking the Generational Divide, we brought Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z into one open conversation about what work should be. They didn't agree on everything. But growth came up as a top value across every generation in the room.
The Edelman data backs it up. When employees named what would make workplace change go better, skill growth was on the list alongside guidance, time to plan and a chance to be heard. Growth isn't a perk for young employees or a reward for senior ones. It's something everyone on your team wants, and managers who coach, rather than command, help people feel capable in a world where their job may look different next year.
Try this: Open one 1:1 a month with "What's something you want to get better at this quarter?" and help them find one way to practise it.
How to build these skills on your team
Soft skills don't stick from a single lunch-and-learn. They stick when a team shares the same language for trust and practises it together, in real situations.
Start with a baseline. Take our free Team Trust Assessment to see which of the four distinctions is strongest on your team, and which one needs work.
Give everyone the same language. Our Trust Workshop teaches Care, Sincerity, Reliability and Competence so people can name what's happening instead of guessing.
Practise the behaviours. Our Soft Skills Training turns those distinctions into skills people use every day: listening, feedback, follow-through and connection.
Keep it going. Pick one "Try this" from this list each month and talk about how it went in your team meeting.
For more, read Building a Culture of Trust in the Workplace and How to Give Feedback to Coworkers and Friends.
People don't leave jobs, they leave managers. And managers who build trust keep their people.
Ready to build a team that trusts each other? Book a consultation and let's build more kind, capable managers together.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important soft skills for managers in 2027?
The eight that matter most are empathy, listening, honest communication, bridging difference, following through, extending trust, leading people through change and coaching for growth. Together they cover the four things people look for before they trust a manager: care, sincerity, reliability and competence.
How do soft skills build trust at work?
Trust is built through repeated behaviour, not statements. Soft skills like listening and following through are the behaviours that show people you care, you mean what you say, you will do what you promised and you know what you're doing.
Why is trust in managers declining?
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer links falling trust to constant workplace change. 76% of employees went through at least one major change in the past year, and employees who had a negative experience of change trusted their manager far less (60% vs 85%).
Can AI replace manager soft skills?
No. AI can help with information and drafting, but Edelman found human managers still outperform AI at making employees feel valued. The human side of leadership matters more as AI takes on more tasks.
How can I improve my team's soft skills?
Start by measuring where trust is strong and weak, give the team a shared language for trust, then practise specific behaviours together. KindCo offers trust workshops and soft skills training for teams in Vancouver and across Canada.
Sources
All statistics come from the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work, 10,018 employees in 10 countries including Canada.
Framework: Charles Feltman, The Thin Book of Trust (four distinctions of trust).
