Building trust in a new era
While long-held wisdom for trust-building still matters—reciprocate, build relationships, tell the truth—today’s leaders are operating under very different conditions. In the wake of disruption and diminished certainty, this article explores how trust is created, deepened and repaired when expectations, power dynamics and employee needs have fundamentally shifted.
We’ve worked with hundreds of leaders and companies who have taught us a great deal about trust, and in particular, how to earn it from employees. In our experience, there is no one thing that guarantees trust-building—it depends on the state of the relationship between leaders and employees. When it comes to trust, some organizations are trying to strengthen it, while others may be working to regain it after it’s been lost. Still others, particularly new organizations or new leaders, are creating it for the first time. And they’re doing this in the long shadow of the pandemic, when typical social tactics and dynamics have been disrupted to the point of needing to be reconceived, or reinvented entirely. As a result, what it takes to create, deepen and repair trust is shifting. Different states of trust present nuanced challenges—requiring thoughtfulness from you, as a leader, in a few particular areas.
To create and deepen trust…
Co-create the future.
Seeking employee input should be a regular occurrence, not just a reconciliatory activity. To truly deepen trust, show that you value and trust the insight of your employees and want to include them in decision-making for the company: What opportunities are they excited about? What do they see holding the company back? Co-creating the future of the business can happen through internal focus groups, increased access to executives, implementation of varied communication channels, by building innovation labs that bring together diverse groups of employees, and other strategies that make the most sense for your culture. This collective approach to stewardship of the company engenders a sense of ownership and belief in your leadership. Trust given is trust gained.
Anticipate and innovate.
Trust was once predicated on reactive moves: telling the truth when asked, taking responsibility, establishing a track record of competence. Today, people expect more. If people don’t know you’re out ahead of the curve, then they fear you’re behind it. To convince people to follow your lead, you must be willing to be out front, demonstrating you can anticipate and innovate for the future. This kind of leadership requires emotional resilience and enduring courage.
Stand for something.
In a world where distrust is the default, companies are still trusted more than other institutions. However, people want more business leadership in societal issues, with 60 percent of employees expressing a desire to have their CEO speak out on controversial issues they care about.
The world is a mess. You don’t have to weigh in on every issue—and you shouldn’t. But for issues that are particularly important to your employees and your business, ignoring them eats away at trust.
Remember that speaking out is only one way of taking a stand (and it shouldn’t be done unless you have action planned to back it up). With your leadership team, assess the materiality of various social issues and create a strategy around how you will address them meaningfully.
Don’t just be a leader… be you.
In today’s hyper-connected, “cancel culture” world, we have been conditioned to be careful about what we say. Sometimes it feels safer to just say nothing at all—or at least, nothing of true substance. However, what people crave and respect most is the real deal. Rather than delivering sterile talking points passed through rounds of approvals, find a way to bring some unfiltered honesty to the conversation. Bring your team into your thought process. Let them see some of the messy middle. Admit when you don’t have all the answers or are struggling with something. Building employee belief starts with building belief in you as a leader. Often, what they hunger for most is being reminded their leaders are people too.
To repair trust…
Be thoughtful about communication timing.
As a leader, good intentions may compel you to make genuine commitments. But if too much time elapses before real action takes place, the statement of commitment—no matter how significant or commendable—can backfire and deepen distrust. It’s best to share announcements about commitments closer to the time of actual implementation, when employees can see and feel evidence of tangible progress. But this doesn’t mean it’s okay to wait, either. If rebuilding trust is a priority for you, it’ll need to be treated like one. This might require you to dedicate extra resources to make impactful changes happen in a timely manner.
Seek to understand, not just to be understood.
When executives need to rebuild trust after a breach, they are often the ones doing the talking—explaining what happened, apologizing, committing to doing better. However, even when their words are sincere and the plan forward is sound, this often isn’t enough, because professional relationships are human relationships. A breach of trust hurts. And to heal that hurt, the person harmed has to feel truly heard. To do so, you must ensure employees of all levels feel safe to share their experiences candidly, and prioritize taking time to listen. In doing so, you should be able to play back what you’ve heard in a way that assures them you understand. When hearing criticism—even that which may be misplaced—it’s important not to get defensive, and just listen to what’s being said.
Does this take a lot of time? Absolutely. But the insights gained and bonds built will pay dividends, while the price of not doing it will almost surely cost more.
Check yourself, then trust yourself.
The loudest voices don’t always paint the most accurate picture of reality. In today’s social environment, it’s easy for a minority opinion to dominate the dialogue and project the image of a consensus that’s not really there. That’s why it’s your responsibility not only to understand the range of opinions and experiences that exist within your organization, but also to hone your capability to discern what’s really going on. Begin by countering your biases—engaging in honest self-reflection and cultivating a diverse group of advisers who will give you the feedback you need.
If you believe you have just motives, have listened broadly, and have done the due diligence to interrogate your assumptions and biases, then you must ultimately trust yourself to create the path forward—even if it makes you vulnerable to criticism. Take time to communicate all the inputs you considered and the thinking behind your decisions, including where you struggled. Those who don’t agree with you will see your thoughtfulness and intentionality, which will help them trust you too.
This article was originally published in the book The Call Forward, which is available for purchase here.
More MOMENTUM
The power of creative leadership: New responses for uncertain times
In times of uncertainty, familiar leadership approaches often fall short. As organizations navigate liminal spaces between what was and what’s emerging, this article explores creative leadership as a strategic capability—one rooted in curiosity, imagination and presence—to help leaders sense possibilities, engage people and shape more purposeful futures.
