Leading Change When Trust is Broken

A knee-jerk reaction to team resistance might be: “Fire them all and start again.” But here’s the truth you probably don’t want to hear: Your team isn’t resisting change, they’re resisting you. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but let’s be honest, change rarely fails because the idea is bad. It fails because trust is broken and because you skipped the “why,” and fear filled the silence you left behind. When your team pushes back, here’s what they’re really saying: “I don’t trust where this is going.” “No one asked me.” “I’m scared, and I don’t feel safe saying that out loud.” “You’ve changed things before and left us to clean up the mess.” Change is emotional, human, and messy. So if you want real buy-in? Don’t start with a strategy deck, start with your people. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Ask Invite input early. Before rolling out a change, ask your team what they think. What are their worries? What would make this easier for them? Use open-ended questions like: “What do you see as the biggest challenge here?” “How do you think this change could help us?” 2️⃣ Listen Really listen. Don’t just nod along, take notes, ask clarifying questions, and reflect back what you’re hearing. Acknowledge the emotion: “It sounds like you’re worried about how this will impact your workload. That’s a valid concern.” 3️⃣ Validate Show you value their perspective. Even if you can’t act on every suggestion, let them know their voice matters. Be transparent about any constraints. Make the change with them, not to them. Co-create solutions. Let the team own parts of the process. When things get tough, solve problems together, not in isolation. And when things get bumpy? Because they will: ✅ Celebrate the tiny wins, because they matter more than you think. ✅ Talk about the challenges and fix them together. When leaders try to solve the bumpiness alone, they leave their team feeling lost at sea. And let’s be honest, that’s a tough place to be left alone. So bring your team into the journey, or at least keep them in the discussion. My rule is simple: If it impacts them, communicate, don’t hide. Want to drive change that actually sticks? Start with trust, not tactics.

When the deal of the year turned into the mess of the year... I once walked into an acquisition integration that looked brilliant on paper, and was a disaster in practice. The systems were colliding, leaders were pointing fingers, and employees were caught in the middle. Every update from the top was polished, precise, and…completely hollow. The truth? People didn’t need another update. They needed to feel understood. Where it all went wrong? I sat in meetings where leaders rolled out flawless powerpoints, crisp emails, and “efficient” town halls. From the outside, it looked like best-in-class communication. But behind the scenes? Disengagement. Frustration. Turnover. There was a glaring gap between foundational communication (telling people what they “need” to know) and human communication (making people feel seen, heard, and connected). The Reset? That’s when my team and I stepped in. We pressed pause on the corporate theater and focused on being human first: -We coached leaders to share stories, not just strategies. When people could see themselves in the narrative, they cared again. -We taught leaders to acknowledge what was messy, confusing, and hard - because vulnerability builds trust faster than any polished script. -We rebuilt dialogue. Not quarterly updates, but ongoing conversations where employees could question, push back, and be part of shaping the new culture. Slowly, things shifted. Employees stopped bracing for the next “update” and started leaning in. Leaders discovered that trust doesn’t come from having all the answers - it comes from being willing to show up as human. The lesson for leaders? In an age of automation and endless change, the real competitive edge isn’t efficiency. It’s empathy. If you’re leading through change - an acquisition, a reorg, even a tough quarter, ask yourself: Am I just communicating information? Or am I creating connection? Because when everything else is in flux, relationships are the one thing that will hold your culture together. Your people don’t need another update. They need to feel understood.

Trust is built in drops and lost in buckets, and we’re running out of buckets. If you're leading teams through #AI adoption, navigating #hybrid work, or just steering through the tempest that is 2025, there's a crucial factor that could make or break your success: #trust. And right now, it's in free fall. Edelman's Trust Barometer showed an "unprecedented decline in employer trust" -- the first time in their 25 years tracking that trust in business fell. It's no surprise: midnight #layoff emails, "do more with less," #RTO mandates, and fears of #GenAI displacement given CEO focus on efficiency are all factors. The loss of #trust will impact performance. The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) research shows high performing organizations have 10-11X higher trust between employees and leaders. Trust impacts #engagement, #innovation and #technology adoption, especially AI. My latest newsletter gets beyond the research and into what leaders can do today to start rebuilding trust You can't command-and-control your way through a complete overhaul of how we work... Trust is a two-way street. Leaders need to go first, but we also have to rebuild the gives-and-takes of employer/employee relationships. Three starting points: 1️⃣ Clear Goals, Real Accountability. Stop monitoring attendance and start measuring outcomes. Give teams clear goals and autonomy in how they achieve them. 2️⃣ Transparency with Guardrails. Break down information silos. Share context behind decisions openly - even difficult ones. Establish guardrails for meaningful conversations internally (instead of rock-throwing externally). 3️⃣ Show Vulnerability. Saying "I don't know" isn't weakness–it's an invitation for others to contribute. The word “vulnerability” seems anathema to too many public figures at the moment, who instead are ready to lock themselves in the Octagon with their opponents. But what’s tougher for them: taking a swing at someone, or admitting to their own limitations? This isn't just about CEOs. Great leaders show up at all levels of the org chart, creating "trust bubbles:" pockets of high performance inside even the most challenging environments. If you're one of those folks, thank you for what you do! 👉 Link to the newsletter in comments; please read (it's free) and let me know what you think! #FutureOfWork #Leadership #Management #Culture

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 Ever been in a situation where something goes wrong, and suddenly everyone’s pointing fingers—but nobody’s actually responsible? A deadline gets missed. The “why” turns into a blame game. People start defending, deflecting, or going silent. The real issues stay underground, and collaboration tanks. Energy shifts from solving problems to self-protection. You end up with a culture where people play it safe, avoid risk, and disengage emotionally. What you're tempted to say is: “Can everyone please be professional?” “Can someone explain why this happened?” “This team needs to get its act together.” “Let’s just move on. Next time, do better.” “I don’t want to hear about problems, bring me solutions.” As an emotion-focused psychotherapist, I learnt this term in unpacking systemic communication within families and couples: "Everyone is at fault, but no one is to blame." Because if you listen, the issue isn't what's said in blame but what's felt in one's needs. Blame is the enemy of wellbeing. The key to the deadlock in a culture built on zero-sum games is acceptance, accountability and amends. If you’re a leader (or even just a human at work), you’ve been there. Blame doesn’t just break trust—it breaks wellbeing. Chronic blame creates anxiety, kills psychological safety, and makes even the most talented people start plotting their exit. Here are 5 phrases to navigate the heavy conversation instead. 1. “I can see this situation is frustrating for everyone, and your feelings are valid.” This phrase acknowledges the emotional state of the team without dismissing or minimizing anyone’s experience. 2. “Let’s take a moment—what’s been the most challenging part of this for you?” This question invites deeper sharing and signals genuine curiosity, not judgment. 3. “We’re in this together. What would help you feel supported right now?” This phrase shifts the dynamic from ‘me vs. you’ to ‘us vs. the problem.’ It’s an invitation to co-create solutions, not just assign fault. 4. “I appreciate everyone’s honest emotions. Right now, let’s focus on understanding, not assigning blame.” This directly addresses the urge to blame and redirects the group toward constructive dialogue. It models calm and sets a tone for open communication, as suggested in the documents. 5. “Beneath your frustration, I know everyone is yearning for a better result. What could we focus on as our next step?” This phrase does two things at once: it acknowledges the real, raw frustration in the room (which is so often swept under the carpet), and it honors the positive intent behind it—the collective desire for improvement. The more energy spent on self-protection, the less available for creativity, empathy, and real performance. If you want a team that thrives under pressure, start by removing the sting of blame. Real growth comes when we solve the problem collectively without needing to make anyone the villain.

Your team just told you they're burned out. What you say in the next 30 seconds will either build trust or destroy it forever. Most leaders think trust is built through big gestures and annual reviews. But after coaching hundreds of executives, I've learned the truth: trust lives in those split-second moments when someone brings you a problem. Here's what happens when your team raises concerns: What breaks trust: ❌ Dismissing their reality → "Everyone's busy right now" → Translation: Your wellbeing doesn't matter ❌ Making it about you → "I worked 80 hours last week too" → Translation: Your struggle isn't valid ❌ Using guilt as motivation → "We need team players here" → Translation: Speaking up makes you disloyal Instead of defaulting to defensiveness, here’s how we guide leaders to respond—using the CHANGES framework from Conversational Intelligence®: 🤝 C - Co-Creating (Shift from Excluding to Including) → "Thank you for trusting me with this - let's solve it together" → Makes them part of the solution, not the problem 🤝 H - Humanizing (Shift from Judging to Appreciating) → "Your honesty takes courage and helps our whole team" → Demonstrate respect for their contribution 🤝 A - Aspiring (Shift from Limiting to Expanding Aspirations) → "This feedback helps us create the culture we want" → Connect their concern to bigger organizational goals 🤝 N - Navigating (Shift from Withholding to Sharing) → "Let me share what I'm seeing and hear your perspective" → Create transparency around challenges and solutions 🤝 G - Generativity (Shift from Knowing to Discovering) → "What ideas do you have that we haven't tried yet?" → Reward their insights and encourage innovation 🤝 E - Expressing (Shift from Dictating to Developing) → "How can we empower you to make decisions about your workload?" → Inspire them to own solutions 🤝 S - Synchronizing (Shift from Criticizing to Celebrating) → "Here's what we're changing because you spoke up" → Celebrate their courage and close the feedback loop The hidden cost of getting this wrong: – Your best people stop bringing you problems – Issues explode instead of getting solved early – Innovation dies because psychological safety doesn't exist The payoff of getting this right: – Teams that come to you first when things go wrong, not last. – Projects move faster because the sticky points come up early. – Conflict fades as respect and tolerance goes up. Your next conversation is your next opportunity to choose trust over control. Start with one letter that comes most easily and work your way through CHANGES… one each day. P.S. Which CHANGES element do you need most right now? 🔔 Follow me, Jill Avey, for more leadership insights that move careers forward ♻️ Share to help leaders build stronger teams

A team I was working with kept insisting there was no #trust. - People were guarded. - No one spoke up in meetings. I could’ve nodded and gone into diagnosis mode, but instead I tried something different. I asked them to think of one recent moment, however small, where someone did speak up and it didn’t backfire. At first, it was quiet. Then Megan said, “Actually… in that Monday Ops sync, Ethan admitted he dropped the ball on the vendor handoff, and no one jumped on him. We just figured it out.” Someone else added, “Right, we even made a follow-up plan. That was a good moment.” We stayed with that one story: - What made that moment possible? - Who helped it go well? - What didn’t happen that usually derails things? That tiny shift, from analyzing what’s broken to noticing what worked, was enough. It changed how the team saw themselves. A week later, someone told me, “It’s weird, but it feels like we’re getting traction now. Like we just hadn’t been paying attention.” Sometimes “no trust” doesn’t need fixing. It needs noticing, one useful moment at a time. #solutionfocused

Workplace-related trauma is real. And it usually originates with bad leadership. I’ve inherited a lot of employees over my career of leading teams, and I always stumble upon past work-related trauma when working to evolve my team's culture. Trauma stems from working with previous leaders who lack emotional control, show favoritism to others, or focus on just keeping employees happy rather than fostering their engagement. When I inherit a team or individual employees, I can immediately recognize the signs: 😕 Unhealthy Distrust of Leadership A history of broken promises, inconsistent behavior, or poor communication from previous leaders can erode trust. 😶 Unwillingness to Communicate Employees who have experienced negative interactions with leadership may become withdrawn and hesitant to share ideas or feedback. They might fear retaliation or believe that their input is not valued. 😬 Lack of confidence with innovation and decision-making. Past experiences of being micromanaged or having their ideas dismissed can lead to a lack of confidence in employees. They may become overly cautious and hesitant to take risks or make decisions. So how do you begin the healing process if you have someone on your team with workplace trauma? Three ways to rebuild your employee’s trust in leadership and confidence in their own work are: Transparent Communication 🗣 Be open and honest with your team. Share information regularly and be clear about your expectations, goals, and decisions. Transparency builds trust by showing that you have nothing to hide and are committed to keeping everyone informed. This includes admitting when you don’t have all the answers and being open to feedback and suggestions from your team. Be consistent in your own behavior 🔁 Consistency in your actions and decisions is key to building credibility. Employees need to know that they can rely on you to act fairly and predictably. This means upholding the same standards for everyone, being dependable, and following through on your promises. Consistency is essential to establishing trust again. Listen and Ask Questions 👂 Active listening is a powerful tool for building trust and understanding your team’s needs and concerns. Have genuine interest in what your employees have to say and validate their feelings and experiences. Ask open-ended questions to encourage dialogue and demonstrate that you value their input. Listening also involves acting on the feedback you receive, which shows that you are committed to making improvements based on their insights. Rebuilding trust and confidence takes time and consistent effort, but the results are well worth it. By prioritizing these in your leadership approach, you can transform a workplace culture from a frozen tundra to thriving rainforest. #leadership #leadershipmatters #culture #multifamily

Most leaders and managers often get 'building trust' wrong. They think it’s built through team bonding, feel-good speeches, or simply “giving it time” to get to know each other. But trust doesn’t come from feeling good. It comes from clarity. A few years ago, a large CRM company went through mass layoffs. They brought me in to run leadership workshops, and one exec asked me: "𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴?" I told them: "Because you can’t build trust if people don’t even have clarity on where they stand." 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 ‘𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲’ 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. When people are uncertain, they don’t need reassurance. They need clarity. Clarity on the past → Why something happened. Clarity on the present → The reality we’re in. Clarity on the future → What’s known, what’s uncertain, and what it means for the team. You don’t ask people to trust you. You create an environment where trust is earned through transparency, consistency, and delivering on what you can control. If you’re leading a team, start here: Before asking for trust, ask yourself: Have I made things clear? Would love to hear your take. Drop it in the comments. #Leadership #Trust #Teamwork #Clarity --- I’m Hugo Pereira, co-founder of Ritmoo and fractional growth operator. I’ve led businesses from €1M to €100M+ while building purpose-driven, resilient teams. Follow me for insights on growth, leadership, and teamwork. My book, Teamwork Transformed, launches early 2025.