How to Frame Change for Community Trust

Here’s the hard truth: Change can shake the very foundation of trust inside your organization. Change Is Inevitable. Companies evolve. Markets shift. Strategies unfold. But losing trust doesn't have to be inevitable when change happens. I’ve seen it firsthand—leaders rolling out big changes without bringing their teams along for the journey. The result? Confusion. Resistance. Distrust. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s how trusted leaders navigate change while strengthening trust: 🔑 Communicate Early and Often – Uncertainty breeds fear. Keep your team informed about what’s happening, why it’s happening, and how it impacts them. Silence only creates space for assumptions. 🔑 Acknowledge the Impact – Change is hard. Don’t dismiss how your employees feel. Show empathy. Listen to their concerns. Let them know they’re seen and heard. 🔑 Involve Your Team – People support what they help create. Engage employees in shaping the path forward. Invite feedback. Encourage collaboration. 🔑 Stay Consistent and Reliable – In times of change, consistency builds stability. If you’ve made promises, honor them. If you can’t, be honest about why. 🔑 Lead with Transparency – Share not just the wins, but also the challenges. Trust grows when leaders are open about the road ahead—even when it’s tough. Change will always be a part of business. But leaders who build trust through change will come out stronger—with teams that are engaged, resilient, and ready to grow. Are you leading through change with trust at the core? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. #Leadership #Trust #ChangeManagement

I once worked with a team that was, quite frankly, toxic. The same two team members routinely derailed meeting agendas. Eye-rolling was a primary form of communication. Side conversations overtook the official discussion. Most members had disengaged, emotionally checking out while physically present. Trust was nonexistent. This wasn't just unpleasant—it was preventing meaningful work from happening. The transformation began with a deceptively simple intervention: establishing clear community agreements. Not generic "respect each other" platitudes, but specific behavioral norms with concrete descriptions of what they looked like in practice. The team agreed to norms like "Listen to understand," "Speak your truth without blame or judgment," and "Be unattached to outcome." For each norm, we articulated exactly what it looked like in action, providing language and behaviors everyone could recognize. More importantly, we implemented structures to uphold these agreements. A "process observer" role was established, rotating among team members, with the explicit responsibility to name when norms were being upheld or broken during meetings. Initially, this felt awkward. When the process observer first said, "I notice we're interrupting each other, which doesn't align with our agreement to listen fully," the room went silent. But within weeks, team members began to self-regulate, sometimes even catching themselves mid-sentence. Trust didn't build overnight. It grew through consistent small actions that demonstrated reliability and integrity—keeping commitments, following through on tasks, acknowledging mistakes. Meeting time was protected and focused on meaningful work rather than administrative tasks that could be handled via email. The team began to practice active listening techniques, learning to paraphrase each other's ideas before responding. This simple practice dramatically shifted the quality of conversation. One team member later told me, "For the first time, I felt like people were actually trying to understand my perspective rather than waiting for their turn to speak." Six months later, the transformation was remarkable. The same team that once couldn't agree on a meeting agenda was collaboratively designing innovative approaches to their work. Conflicts still emerged, but they were about ideas rather than personalities, and they led to better solutions rather than deeper divisions. The lesson was clear: trust doesn't simply happen through team-building exercises or shared experiences. It must be intentionally cultivated through concrete practices, consistently upheld, and regularly reflected upon. Share one trust-building practice that's worked well in your team experience. P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n

This week, I’m in Berlin delivering training on the importance of robust and inclusive disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy. The discussions have been insightful, but one theme keeps emerging: the importance of trust. Participants have shared real-world examples of how communities’ willingness to engage with DRR initiatives, especially those inclusive of particularly at-risk or marginalised communities, is shaped by their trust in institutions, policymakers, and each other. Without trust, even the best-designed policies risk failing at the implementation stage. Building that trust means ensuring DRR efforts are transparent, inclusive, and responsive to the lived realities of those most at risk. This reminder aligns closely with a piece I’ve had published this week on PreventionWeb, exploring the role of misinformation and trust in DRR. The piece was based on a report I launched last month (https://lnkd.in/eniYeaNM), the piece examines how misinformation doesn’t just distort public understanding of risk: it actively undermines confidence in scientific expertise and disaster governance, disproportionately affecting marginalised groups. As we refine DRR policy, we need to recognise that trust isn’t an abstract ideal, it’s a core component of effective disaster preparedness and response. Without it, the best policies remain words on a page. Building trust requires deliberate effort. Key steps include: 1️⃣ Understanding the community by analysing cultural, social, and political dynamics and engaging key leaders 2️⃣ Engaging from the start using participatory approaches and consulting diverse community groups 3️⃣ Communicating openly by providing clear, honest, and timely information 4️⃣ Ensuring inclusivity by engaging marginalised groups and avoiding reliance on elite voices 5️⃣ Delivering on commitments by following through on promises and providing regular updates 6️⃣ Maintaining long-term engagement by fostering sustained partnerships and resilience-building By prioritising trust through transparency, inclusivity, and sustained engagement, DRR efforts can become more effective, ensuring that policies translate into meaningful action for those most at risk. The link to the PreventionWeb article can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ecdZMQt7 #InclusiveDRR #LeaveNoOneBehind

I used to think creating community health change was as simple as writing a solid policy, presenting strong data, and launching a well-designed program. I was wrong. We have entered communities with research-backed strategies and the best intentions only to be met with silence, resistance, or polite disengagement. We have the evidence and the framework, but we didn’t have their trust, which doesn’t come from statistics. It comes from sitting with people, listening without agenda, and allowing their lived experiences to shape the process. We sometimes show up with answers before even asking the right questions. Next time 
✅ If you want lasting change, start with listening.
✅ Build programs with communities, not just for them.
✅ Trust is built in conversation, not in spreadsheets. People don’t want to be told what’s best for them. They want to be heard, respected, and included. That’s how real public health impact happens, and we move from talk to transformation. Let’s stop designing public health around systems and start designing it around people. What’s one change you wish your community could make to make health services more accessible and inclusive? Are you ready to move from talk to action? Let’s connect. #DrSumayya #thepublichealthmuse #communityfirst #publichealthadvocate #Inclusivehealth

Building trust is more important than building technology. When we began Commonlands work in rural Uganda, our first instinct was to focus on the tech — the maps, the certificates, the microloan platform. It made sense. Technology could scale solutions faster, streamline processes, and offer transparency. But without trust, even the most advanced tools are useless. Many had seen outsiders arrive with promises before—only for those promises to vanish, leaving communities worse off. Why should they trust us? We had to earn it. That meant showing up—not just once or twice, but consistently. → Sitting under trees and listening to their stories. → Respecting their skepticism and their pace. → Engaging local leaders to vouch for our intentions. Over time, we saw something remarkable. People began opening up. They shared their stories and their challenges. Only then did the technology become meaningful—it became a tool they could see themselves using, not something imposed on them. This is what made us achieve an incredible milestone: ➜ 2,500 plots documented. ➜ 99% loan repayment rate. Then I realized that trust is slow to build but incredibly fragile. And when you’re working with communities, it’s non-negotiable. Technology might be exciting, but relationships are what sustain progress. Today, every certificate we issue and every loan we facilitate is built on a foundation of trust—not just innovation. And that, I’ve learned, is the only way real change happens. Thoughts? Do you believe a lack of trust can impact the success of a project? Follow 👉 Darius and repost! #communitydevelopment #trustbuilding #socialimpact #sustainability #changemaking