THE BOOK BY ALINE J. BADR

TRUSTED.

How Aligned Leaders Earn Reputations That Last

Close the gap between who you are, how you lead and how others experience you, and earn the trust that moves your business, and leadership, forward.

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TRUSTED: How Aligned Leaders Earn Reputations That Last by Aline J. Badr. Purple book cover with yellow and white circles.

INSIDE TRUSTED.

Most leadership challenges are trust problems in disguise.

Leaders want their teams to take ownership, work better together and deliver results. Others want the next role and wonder why they aren’t gaining traction. Trust enters the conversation when we begin to explore what is getting in the way.

68 percent of people believe business leaders deliberately mislead them, according to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer. Only 48 percent of employees trust their senior leaders, according to a 2024 Gartner survey.

Behind these numbers is a gap many well-intentioned leaders fail to see: between who they are, how they lead and how others experience them. Left unexamined, it erodes trust and undermines their results.

TRUSTED brings together leadership stories, research and practical exercises to help leaders recognise that gap and close it. Whether you lead a business, a team or a project, the work begins with you.

The questions that change how you lead.

The book invites you to examine familiar situations more honestly, then put what you discover into practice.

Whose values are you living by?

Some values are inherited. Others are consciously chosen. Explore whether the decisions you make, the boundaries you set and the commitments you keep reflect what actually matters to you.

“That’s not what I meant.”

When someone tells you how your behaviour affected them, explaining your intentions can move attention away from their experience. Learn to separate intent from impact and take responsibility for the gap.

What do you hear when you listen?

The need to answer, advise or defend can stop you from understanding the problem in front of you. Examine what becomes possible when you listen with a willingness to be wrong.

What do you want to be known for?

Brand promises. Reputation proves. Consider whether the image you project matches what people experience, and how the choices you make earn credibility over time.

The leader this moment needs you to be

The approach that worked yesterday may be holding you back today. Recognise when to adapt your leadership so others have room to think, contribute and take ownership.

PRAISE FOR TRUSTED.

“Trusted will change the way you think about trust as a leader. Aline J. Badr challenges convention with a simple but powerful idea: lasting trust is the result of alignment. It's a timely, thought-provoking book that reframes how trust is earned—and why it lasts. This book belongs on the desk of every leader.”

Peter Aceto
Peter AcetoFormer President & CEO, ING Direct Canada
Bestselling Author of Weology

“Trust isn’t about keeping a promise to others so much as keeping a promise to your future self. This book will give you a foundation to be deeply trusted.”

Michael Bungay Stanier
Michael Bungay StanierBestselling author of The Coaching Habit

“Trusted is a vital contribution to leadership. Aline J. Badr lays out a map and practical exercises for leaders to gain trust with self-awareness and courage to act with integrity. The results from building relationships worthy of trust will increase exponentially.”

Dr. Marcia Reynolds, PsyD
Dr. Marcia Reynolds, PsyDMaster certified coach and author of The Discomfort Zone and Coach the Person, Not the Problem

“Even experienced leaders can struggle to see how others truly experience them. Reading Trusted feels like working with a wise executive coach who helps you spot your blind spots and lead in a way people believe in.”

Dorie Clark
Dorie ClarkWall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of The Long Game

“Trusted gives leaders a practical framework for seeing themselves clearly and understanding the effect they have on the people around them. I’ve watched Aline J. Badr successfully use this framework with hundreds of executives at IESE.”

Conor Neill
Conor NeillSenior lecturer at IESE Business School; president of Vistage Spain

“Aline J. Badr writes with the authority of someone who has done this work in real boardrooms, not just theorized about it. As a voice speaking from and to the Arab region, she brings a perspective our leadership conversations urgently need. Trusted offers a path back to yourself, and from there, to the people you lead. I recommend it to every leader I coach.”

Dr. Zeina Ghossoub
Dr. Zeina GhossoubMaster certified coach, CWC, ACTC with a PhD in Human Behavior

THE TRUSTED REPUTATIONS LEADERSHIP MODEL

Who you are.
How you lead.
How others
experience you.

Three connected areas of development help you turn alignment into trust, and trust into a reputation people believe in.

The Trusted Reputations Leadership Model: overlapping Awareness, Behavior and Visibility circles, with Clarity, Confidence and Credibility at their intersections and a yellow centre representing alignment.
01 / WHO

Awareness

From blind spots to clarity

Explore the values, beliefs and assumptions shaping your leadership. Understand who you are and recognise what you may not be aware of when it comes to your impact.

02 / HOW

Behavior

From doubt to confidence

Understand the reactions and habits that take over under pressure. Align your behaviour with what matters to you and what the people you lead need from you.

03 / WOW

Visibility

From optics to credibility

Examine the difference between the image you project and the reputation you earn. Make your leadership visible through actions people can consistently trust.

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

What is it like to be
on the other side of you?

Every interaction shapes what people feel able to say, question or admit in your presence. The inner work of leadership becomes meaningful in that shared space, where trust builds or breaks and people move forward together.

Trust is earned one aligned action at a time.

Aline J. Badr speaking on stage

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aline J. Badr

Global Executive Coach & Reputation Advisor · CPCC, PCC

Aline’s work focuses on solving the trust problems that undermine business results. With over twenty-five years at the intersection of brand, reputation, and leadership, she created the Trusted Reputations Leadership Model to close the gap between who leaders are, how they lead, and how they are experienced, so they earn reputations that last and generate lasting business results. She has partnered with C-level leaders across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, including ING, Siemens, WSP, Novo Nordisk, the Government of Ontario, and TD Bank Group.

Known for her direct, reflective approach, she challenges leaders to do the inner work that drives lasting impact. Aline delivers keynotes and workshops internationally and has done so with such organizations as PCMA, the International Labour Organization, Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) and Columbia University.

She teaches in global executive education programs, including at IESE Business School, the University of Thai Chambers of Commerce and Harbour.Space University. She is ICF-certified and trained in Co-Active coaching, Positive Intelligence and Neuroscience of Coaching. She is also licensed in Hogan and Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) 360 assessments.

Aline has lived in five countries, speaks four languages, and is based in Barcelona. She cannot live without live music.

More about Aline

SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS

Bringing trust into the conversation.

Keynotes, workshops and conversations exploring who we are, how we lead and how others experience us.

PRAISE FOR ALINE’S WORK.

“Aline has been instrumental in helping me work through challenging leadership situations, when a deeper exploration of my perception of people and situations was required. As a coach, advisor or brand strategist, Aline is a valuable asset.”

Peter AcetoFormer President and CEO, ING DIRECT Canada

“Three hours well spent for our EO Thailand members. Aline’s workshop helped us better understand our leadership styles, recognize our blind spots and think more clearly about the people we need around us to complement our strengths.”

Picharat JiammaniskulPresident, EO Thailand

“Aline's poise, professionalism and personal commitment allowed her to immediately and successfully engage with key stakeholders, both internal and external. I highly recommend her.”

Tom McAllisterFormer CEO, The Heart and Stroke Foundation

“Aline is an indispensable presence. Among her winning traits are her high IQ and EQ, her active listening, her obvious respect for her clients without being deferential, and her ability to ask the right question at the perfect time. She is trustworthy, discreet, calm and consistent.”

Alexis ChatziliasHead of Strategy, Upshelf

CLIENTS & ORGANIZATIONS ALINE HAS WORKED WITH

EO Thailand, ING, Deloitte, TD Bank, International Labour Organization, Novo Nordisk, PCMA, WSP, Harbour.Space University, UTCC, IESE Business School, Tangerine, Ontario, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Siemens, Upshelf, PandaDoc, OQEMA, Wolters Kluwer, OLG and Columbia University.

Earn a reputation
people believe in.

TRUSTED. A book by

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For bulk copies, a conversation about TRUSTED, or speaking and podcast interviews, get in touch with Aline.

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