Trust, Decoded: Pamela Barnum brings hard-earned insights on trust, communication, and negotiation to the material handling industry
By Christine Preusler
PAMELA BARNUM SPENT years working in a world where trust wasn’t just nice to have – it was a survival skill. As an undercover police officer embedded in drug enforcement, she learned to build credibility with people whose respect had to be earned under pressure and whose suspicion could turn deadly in an instant.
“No one saw me as law enforcement – that was the whole point,” she said. “I couldn’t rely on positional power. I had to build trust with people who were incredibly suspicious and often violent, and I had to do it fast, using small cues and subtle shifts.”
After several years undercover, Barnum became a federal prosecutor. In the courtroom, just like on the street, trust was a currency. Whether convincing a jury or cross-examining a witness, she leaned on the same instincts she’d honed in the field.
Now, Barnum uses her experience as a trust strategist and expert in nonverbal communication to educate corporate audiences on how to build and maintain trust. This summer, she brought those lessons to MHEDA’s Emerging Leaders Conference in Chicago, where she hosted two sessions: “The Power of TRUST: A Blueprint for Excellence” and “Strategic Negotiations: Innovative Approaches to Enhance Trust.”
In both presentations, Barnum explored how trust, once the cornerstone of healthy relationships, has eroded in today’s professional and personal environments and how leaders can rebuild it in their organizations.
The timing couldn’t be more relevant. A May 2025 article from the Pew Research Center revealed that Americans’ trust in one another has plummeted over the past several decades. In the late 1970s, almost half (46%) of respondents to the General Social Survey – a survey of U.S. adults conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago – agreed with the statement “Most people can be trusted.”
That percentage has gradually diminished, reaching just 34% in a 2023-2024 Pew Research Center poll exploring the same topic.
“We’re seeing a decline in trust,” Barnum said. “Some of that is driven by technology; fraud is easier than ever. But it’s also about polarization, misinformation and a general breakdown of confidence in institutions.”
Unlike trust in the government and within interpersonal relationships, Barnum noted that trust in business remains stronger, although it is still vulnerable to erosion when companies communicate poorly.
“If a company takes a social or political stance, public trust can drop fast,” she said. “It’s incredibly fragile.”
For MHEDA members in high-stakes B2B environments where long-term relationships and reliability are everything, the ability to build and maintain trust internally and externally is mission critical.
What Trusted Leadership Looks Like
What separates Barnum’s approach from typical speakers is her immersion in the psychology of behavior. She draws not only from lived experience but also from contemporary research in neuroscience and communication theory.
At the heart of her keynote are several key traits that define a trusted leader – among them transparency, self-awareness and what she calls “intentional cues,” or deliberate verbal and nonverbal behaviors that signal respect, attention and trustworthiness.
Transparency, she explained, doesn’t mean spilling every operational detail. It means communicating clearly and owning the message, especially when things go wrong.
“Transparency inspires stability,” Barnum said. “If something was put out in error, or if a decision changes, leaders need to take ownership and correct it. People can forgive mistakes. What they can’t forgive is being misled.”
Feedback, too, plays a crucial role. Barnum said the act of receiving and incorporating feedback is a trust exercise in itself.
“Everybody says they love feedback until they get it,” she said, laughing. “But feedback, even if it stings, shows us how we’re perceived. I use video recordings of myself speaking and post-event surveys to continuously improve. I tell leaders to do the same. You can’t get better if you aren’t willing to look at what needs fixing.”
That willingness to improve creates a positive feedback loop.
“When employees see their leaders embracing growth and accountability, they’re more likely to do the same,” she said.
Self-awareness and self-confidence, she added, are often the hardest pieces to master.
“We all know someone who lacks self-awareness to the point where we wonder, ‘How did they get here?’” she said. “But the truth is, we’ve all been that person at some point.”
Barnum encourages leaders to observe how they occupy space in meetings. Are they taking all the airtime? Sitting at the head of the table without inviting conversation? Always the first to speak and the last to listen?
“That sends a signal – intentional or not,” she said.
It’s those kinds of cues that can quietly undercut collaboration and morale. On the flip side, Barnum said, small gestures can make a big difference.
“Everyone brings their phone to a meeting. But how many people make a show of putting it away – not just face-down, but out of sight?” she asked. “That one move signals: You’re important. I’m present. You have my full attention.”
It’s more than symbolism. A study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research found that simply having a powered off phone visible on the table can reduce a person’s ability to process information and recall details. That kind of cognitive drag can damage everything from focus to rapport.
“We only have one brain,” Barnum said. “And if part of it is on alert waiting for a notification, then we’re missing the subtleties of the interaction in front of us.”
Trust at the Negotiating Table
Barnum’s second session, “Strategic Negotiations,” dug deeper into those subtleties. Drawing on her experience as an undercover agent and in the courtroom, she showed attendees how to decode body language, listen for inconsistencies and navigate conversations with a blend of emotional intelligence and tactical awareness.
“People lie in negotiations all the time,” she said. “But deception has tells. When you learn to spot them, you can adjust your strategy on the fly.”
She also addressed how to reshape negotiations from zero-sum games into more creative solutions. “We all love a ‘win-win,’ but that only happens when you can expand the pie,” she said. “That takes awareness, adaptability and confidence.”
She challenged attendees to reframe their view of negotiation – not as a battle, but as a process of discovery.
“A great negotiator listens more than they speak,” she said. “They’re reading between the lines, sensing the dynamics of the room and uncovering the real needs driving the conversation.”
For MHEDA attendees leading teams in logistics, supply chains and service environments, Barnum offered practical advice grounded in psychology and real-world experience. Something as seemingly small as the order in which people are CC’d on an email, she noted, can have outsized effects on morale and trust.
“It sounds petty, but people pay attention,” she said. “I worked with a financial firm where the team read meaning into where their names appeared on the CC line. If you’re always last, you wonder: Am I the least important?” she said. “I now advise doing it alphabetically. It removes the interpretation.”
Barnum recently put her background to work as a co-host of the television series “Building Bad,” which investigates the role engineers and scientists have played in constructing systems for criminal organizations that pose significant risks. She’s also hosting an upcoming show, “Ancient Justice,” focused on early legal systems across various civilizations.
Barnum’s experiences in law enforcement, prosecution and public speaking have led her to one central belief: that trust is an intentional act.
“You can’t just hope it happens,” she said. “You have to create the conditions for it.”
Article Takeaways
1. Trust as a Leadership Tool. Barnum teaches that trust is a vital leadership skill built through transparency, self-awareness and intentional communication.
2. Challenges in Modern Trust. She warns that trust is declining in society and business. Making clear, consistent communication more important than ever.
3. Negotiation and Trust. In negotiations, Barnum encourages leaders to prioritize emotional intelligence and active listening to build trust and uncover real needs.
