Strategies for Building Trust with Delinquent Members

"Trust gone – now everything is lost? Or what is it like in leadership when you have lost trust in an employee? I had this question in a coaching session the other day. Can you still work together when trust is gone? Often there is no other option, and yes, I firmly believe that trust can be restored. From my experience, however, it is a long-term process. The first step must be to address the issue directly – even if it is tough. 🔑 Recognizing and addressing loss of trust: Open communication is crucial. Leaders should seek dialogue to clarify the reasons for the loss of trust and to clear up misunderstandings. It is important to name specific examples and situations that led to the loss of trust in order to find solutions together. A study by Kramer and Tyler (1996) emphasizes that open and honest communication is the key to rebuilding lost trust. Beating around the bush does not help. My strategy is always: Put the shit on the table! 🔑 Rebuilding trust: Trust can be gradually restored through consistent and transparent communication and by keeping commitments. It is helpful to delegate small tasks and responsibilities and to closely monitor the employee's progress. Positive reinforcement and recognition of improvements can support the process. According to research by Lewicki and Bunker (1996), rebuilding trust is a gradual process supported by consistent actions and keeping promises. A study by Kim, Dirks, and Cooper (2009) shows that small, positive interactions and the gradual transfer of responsibility can help restore trust. These small successes should be regularly acknowledged and celebrated to promote positive reinforcement. 🔑 Implementing control mechanisms: During the rebuilding of trust, it may be necessary to introduce temporary control mechanisms. However, these should be communicated transparently and presented as temporary measures to avoid further damaging trust in the long term. Research, such as that by Bijlsma-Frankema and Costa (2005), supports that such measures should be clearly communicated and presented as temporary. This transparency prevents the measures from being interpreted as mistrust and helps preserve long-term trust. What are your experiences and strategies? #LossOfTrust #Leaders #TeamCommunication #CoachingTips #TransparentCommunication #EmployeeLeadership"

Growing up, I was super close with my mum. I grew up watching the detective shows she loved.. programmes like Murder, She Wrote, Poirot, and Columbo. These characters were all about investigation, digging beneath the surface to uncover the truth. They were meticulous, they were strategic, they were patient, always focused on the finer details and asked the key questions. When I take a look at our approach to serious youth violence it troubles me. Serious youth violence is a symptom of deeper, underlying issues. It's a byproduct of serious youth pain. When we see youth violence, we’re seeing the surface level result of deeper emotional and psychological struggles. Young people don’t just join gangs without reason. Factors like family breakdown, neglect, abuse, poverty, and a lack of love contribute to their involvement. Many are searching for safety, love, and a sense of family, something gangs can provide when other avenues have sadly failed them. We must take a serious, investigative approach: ✅1. Listen Deeply: Hear their stories and understand their experiences without rushing to judgments or solutions. ✅2. Build Trust: Establish genuine, respectful relationships with them. Consistency and reliability are key. ✅3. Identify the Pain: Recognise and explore the root causes of their gang involvement.. family issues, trauma, etc. ✅4. Provide Stable Support: Offer consistent support to counteract their past instability. ✅5. Address Emotional Needs: Provide mental health resources and safe spaces for emotional expression. ✅6. Engage the Family: Involve their families or caregivers where possible to strengthen their support network. ✅7. Offer Alternatives: Provide positive, constructive activities that offer a sense of belonging and achievement. ✅8. Educate and Empower: Equip them with skills and knowledge to make informed choices and see their options. ✅9. Challenge Stigmas: Avoid biases and understand their unique stories without labeling or prejudgment. ✅10. Promote Healing: Integrate trauma-informed practices and encourage resilience-building activities like mindfulness or therapy. Listen family, when we address the root causes and providing genuine support, we can help these young people move away from gang life and heal from their past pain.

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