So often, CEOs are unable to regain trust because of their communication. Aggression, harshness, shouting, anger, vulgarity, and unkind words rub people the wrong way. People refuse to be bullied. They want to be respected.

Losing one’s cool consistently at meetings not only creates fear but also makes the leader lose credibility and finally destroy trust. Remember, people don’t leave organizations; they leave bad bosses.

Skepticism and cynicism will not go away. Feedback is important. To rebuild trust, provide as many feedback channels as possible. Honest and transparent two-way communication must be built into the system at all levels.

Staff must be given the chance to give constructive feedback. They must also know that opinions do not always result in agreement. It is okay to agree to disagree. When leaders disagree and undertake a course of action contrary to staff feedback, they must communicate the rationale for their decision and why the feedback cannot be adopted. Failure by leaders to do this will only create more distrust.

One employee says, “I know that when I have a concern or difference of opinion with my supervisor, I can count on him to give me unbiased feedback and a different perspective. Whether he supports me or not, I know he will give honest opinions and offer as many solutions as possible.” i

In restoring trust, failures and mistakes will continue to be made. No strategy is foolproof, and no plan can be guaranteed to succeed. But failure is not final. Failure may be the backdoor to success if we respond appropriately. Just as there is service recovery, there must be failure recovery: Admitting failure, Uncovering the factors of failure, conducting a failure repair exercise, Communicating the reasons for our failures, modifying systems, and implementing the failure recovery plan.

Leaders restore trust by trudging along the long, arduous road of making people feel good about themselves again. Great Place to Work Institute, a research-based organization,

defines a great place to work as one in which you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with.”ii

Pride in work means a relentless commitment to excellence. Sloppiness erodes human dignity and finally destroys trust. The culture “If anything has to be done, it must be done well” should be implemented consistently. Excellence involves rebuilding each worker’s capability and capacity. Finding the right job fits, placing people in the right work culture, and developing people systematically become key drivers of rebuilding pride.

Research has found that when companies become great, “the division between management and labor fades. The workplace becomes a community. Employees take pride in their job, their team, and their company.

They feel that they can be themselves at work. They celebrate the successes of their peers and cooperate with others throughout the organization. People take pleasure in their work – and in the people they work with – in a deep and lasting way. They want to stay around for their careers.”iii

Rebuilding is a long process. People want to see movements. Ensuring quick wins and recognizing small successes give people the confidence and impetus to pursue the long road to recovery.

Pushing is not enough.

In conclusion, breaking trust is easier than building it. Rome was not built in a day, but it was destroyed within a very short time. Rebuilding trust is not easy or cheap. Neither does it happen quickly. It requires hard and demanding work. But trust only comes with genuine effort applied consistently.