Trust Pulse Result:

Obscured Value

The work you do — and your effectiveness at doing it — are too seldom seen by those outside the organization.

Benefits delivered but not reflected in the narratives

Understanding your result:

You are in the Obscured Value space when meaningful work is happening inside the organization but the benefits are difficult for others to see clearly.

In many organizations this happens because the work itself is complex, technical, or spread across many efforts. Those inside the organization understand the value being created, but people outside it struggle to see the connection between the work and the benefits they care about.

The organization feels confident about the work it is doing, yet others still question its effectiveness.
The connection between the work and its benefits is clear internally but not obvious to others.
Any common shared vocabularies remain internal.
The organization spends time explaining its work but still feels misunderstood.

If this sounds familiar, it is very common in mission-based organizations doing complex work.

Obscured Value does NOT mean your work lacks value

It means the value is not yet visible. It means something structural is happening.

It means:

Real benefits are likely being produced inside the organization.
Stakeholders do not yet have the language to name those benefits, which means they are a good ways from being broadly understood.
External narratives define the organization rather than its good work.
If outsiders could see the work, trust would be the likely result.
In the meantimes, trust grows slowly because people cannot clearly see the value being delivered.

What to do with this profile:

Reflect on it. Five questions provide a strong signal, but every organization’s situation is different.
Take a personal next step. Visit with us — no pressure. We can help identify pressure points and suggest actions you can take immediately. Just reach out.
Take a next step for your organization. The Organizational Trust Profile can help define the moves needed to move beyond the Obscured Value quadrant by making the benefits of your work easy to understand.

Next level: Get your full Organizational Trust Inventory

The Trust Pulse identifies where trust is breaking down. The Organizational Trust Inventory shows why.

If you want to understand the full system behind your result, the next step is the Organizational Trust Inventory.

Using a research-based survey, and in only about 15–20 minutes, your leadership team will be able to:

Map your trust patterns across all four profiles.
Identify specific vulnerabilities that could impact partnerships, funding, community, or policymaker confidence.
Determine where the gravity components need to mitigated.
Determine the work to be done in the service of moving towards and/or sustaining narrative leadership.

Your Narrative Vulnerability profile is a great starting point. The question now is: What needs to be done across the organization to defy the effects gravity and take meaningful steps towards durable trust?

That’s what the full Organizational Trust Inventory will show you.

Get your organization’s Trust Inventory

Investment starts at $295 for individual leaders, and $1,400 for leadership teams.

After completing the Organizational Trust Inventory, there are two ways to deepen the work:

Option #A: 6‑Part Trust & Stakeholder Seminar (open enrollment)

For individual leaders who want to deepen their practice.

Six 75‑minute sessions.
We emphasize the architecture behind trust and how to use it effectively.
We focus on building durable trust both internally and with stakeholders, community partners, funders, policy makers, and anyone else who matters to your organization.
You'll leave with practical tools you can apply starting day 1.

Option B: Custom Leadership Team Learning Experience

For organizations that want to align a whole leadership team around trusted narrative.

Designed around your needs.
Built around your Organizational Trust Inventory.
Apply the trust-building framework and tools in your real world situations.
Combines learning, reflection, and concrete planning.
Ideal for any leadership team where trust is a worthwhile thing to have.

Apply for the experience