The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving 646: Former McKinsey Consultant Darryl Stickel on Building Trust With Consulting Clients (Strategy Skills classics)
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Apr 20, 2026 Darryl Stickel, a former McKinsey consultant and Ph.D. expert on building trust, explains his Trust Unlimited blueprint. He describes ten levers leaders can use to close trust gaps. Short, practical segments cover uncertainty, vulnerability, benevolence, asking for help, and a script to start trust conversations.
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Applying A PhD To Troublesome McKinsey Clients
- Darryl applied his PhD thesis on building trust in hostile environments to his McKinsey client work in Toronto.
- He became the go-to consultant for difficult clients and used those relationship skills to get better information and impact.
Trust Is Uncertainty Times Vulnerability
- Trust equals willingness to be vulnerable when you can't predict someone else.
- Darryl Stickel defines perceived risk as uncertainty times vulnerability and shows trust rises when that product falls below a person's threshold.
Pull Multiple Levers To Reduce Uncertainty
- Use levers to reduce uncertainty instead of hoping trust appears; identify which lever (ability, benevolence, integrity, context) is missing.
- Pull multiple levers and choose the right one for the situation rather than relying only on credentials.
