Leadership case studies come in all shapes and sizes. In Keir Starmer’s latest speechabout the incoming October budget, Starmer laid out a less than positive state of affairs, warning about an incoming ‘painful’ budget and that he’d be asking more of the British public in moving forward to more balanced times.

It struck me that this type of restructuring, addressing a problem at its foundations, demonstrates exactly the type of difficult conversations leaders are being compelled to have across multiple sectors. With so many challenges emerging from changing work landscapes, talent retention, and increased economic challenges, many are looking to overhaul age old systems of operating. These are not processes that are going to ease without significant effort, unity, and strategy.

With leadership, the first 100 days is always vital in establishing your approach to management and how you realise your vision. It’s fair to say that Starmer is still in the ‘prepare and assess’ phase of the first 100 days, taking stock of the issues left behind by his predecessors.

But as Nancy Holtze, a Korn Ferry Advance coach, has said “Having a plan sets you apart from a new hire who simply reacts to the twists and turns of a new role.” Without an understanding of Starmer’s plan, distrust and familiar cynicism rush in, a reaction that’s commonplace in organisations today. A report from Thomas Griffinfound only 46% of employees trust their managers to do what’s right, which drops to 32% when asked of senior leaders. So how can leaders regain that trust?

For Starmer, his approach appears to be through genuine admitting of wrong. In some ways, you can argue his speech illustrates a transparent and realistic laying out of the problems at hand. Even direct quotes from Starmer’s speech mirror common corporate values, such as “hard graft, not gimmick, honest about the challenges we face and working tirelessly to fix them.”

Alongside this, he’s been consistent in how he’s handled different issues, from addressing the race riots earlier this month to disciplining his own party members. Taking the same approach in your leadership works to establish authority, demonstrate your lack of favouritism, and your self-awareness in navigating your first 100 days.

Leaders have to constantly walk a line of making sure their people are heard and understood whilst trusting their own instincts and long-term strategy to yield results. Admitting to past fault shouldn’t be judged as a total failing, rather ushering in a transparent communication that if delivered in the right way, generates greater trust and understanding.

But it doesn’t appear in a vacuum and the trepidations many of us feeling in this new landscape are valid concerns that work to build a more cogent and effective feedback loops for more confident, successful working cultures.