Who is Really the Most Trusted Profession?

The outside of my barber shop, the safest of spaces

With all due respect to nurses, I’m not convinced they are the most trusted profession.

Instead, here’s my hypothesis: for a lot of men, the most trusted person in their life isn’t wearing scrubs; they’re wearing a barber’s apron.

Think about it. If you’ve found your barber, you probably see them about once a month. And for 30 minutes, you get something rare: uninterrupted time to talk about anything and everything.

I’ve met plenty of good listeners in my life. Barbers are easily at the top of the list. They know how to style your hair to look its best and why your boss is driving you nuts. They hear it all, usually without judgment, and often with genuine validation.

This week, a client (not a barber), but a business owner, had an epiphany. We were talking about trust on their team when they paused, clearly replaying a moment in their mind.

“What if I’m not showing up in a way that makes my team feel they can trust me?”

They shared how they’d reacted to some less-than-ideal news. The more they talked, the clearer it got: trust isn’t just about telling the truth, it’s about how you listen. Without judgment. Like a barber.

Building trust is hard. Listening without jumping in to fix, defend, or critique is even harder. But it’s how people feel safe enough to bring you the truth in the first place.

The people who earn our trust most aren’t always the ones with a code of ethics on the wall; they’re the ones who hand us the mirror at the end and say, “How’s that look?”

This week, skip the quick fixes. Just listen. No judgment. Watch what trust grows when you do.