Episode 9: 3 Ways to Quickly Rebuild Trust as a Leader | 12MinuteLeadership

Trust lies at the heart of leadership effectiveness. When it breaks down—through miscommunication, unfulfilled expectations, or leadership missteps—rebuilding it becomes crucial. Stephen Covey wasn't exaggerating when he called trust "the operating system in every relationship." Without it, teams stagnate, conversations stay superficial, and results suffer.

Drawing from my 17 years of leadership expertise, I share three powerful, actionable strategies to quickly restore trust with your team. First, acknowledge rather than avoid difficult situations. Accountability isn't a sign of weakness—it's a hallmark of authentic leadership that actually builds credibility. I share a personal story from my twenties when I had to own a major travel mistake while leading a team in South Africa, and how taking full responsibility unexpectedly strengthened my relationship with the group.

The second trust builder centers on clear, consistent communication. During uncertain times, people need transparency more than ever. Even when you don't have all the answers, regular updates demonstrate respect and reliability. Finally, follow through with integrity—not just on major commitments but especially on small promises that demonstrate your changed approach. As Brené Brown teaches, integrity means choosing what's right over what's easy and living your values rather than just professing them.

Ready to strengthen your leadership influence? Remember that trust isn't rebuilt through grand gestures but through intentional daily choices. Start with one small step today using these strategies, and you'll be surprised how quickly trust can not only be restored but strengthened. Subscribe to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast for more practical wisdom to help you increase engagement, inspire performance, and retain your best talent.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast
where, in 12 minutes or less,I'll share small things that you
can put into immediate practicethat will make a big difference
in your leadershipeffectiveness.
I'm your host, eliseBoggs-Morales leadership
professor, consultant and coach.
For the last 17 years, I havehelped thousands of leaders

(00:25):
level up their influence andachieve remarkable results.
If you want to trade compliancefor true commitment and create
your dream team, you are in theright place.
Get ready for a quick hit ofpractical wisdom to increase
your team's engagement, inspiretop performance and retain your
best talent.
Ready to level up yourinfluence and get better results

(00:47):
.
12 Minutes starts now.
Hi everyone, elise here,welcome to episode nine three
ways to quickly rebuild trust asa leader.
Today, we're talking aboutsomething every leader will face
at some point rebuilding trustand I thought this was a great

(01:08):
episode coming off the heels oflast week, because we talked
about why every leader needs a360.
And, if you'll remember, 360reviews are about getting
feedback about where you'restrong and where you need
improvement as a leader, andit's sometimes within the
feedback that we receive that werealize maybe we've broken

(01:28):
trust in some areasunintentionally with our teams.
So how do we go about repairingit.
Whether it's a misstep, abreakdown in communication or a
tough season that distanced youfrom your team, trust can take a
hit, but the good news is thatyou can rebuild it, and often
faster than you think if you'reintentional.

(01:49):
I find that so much in life andleadership success is about
being intentional.
So in this episode I'll walkyou through three powerful ways
to quickly regain the trust ofyour team and establish
credibility the trust of yourteam and establish credibility.
But first let's talk about whytrust matters.

(02:14):
Trust isn't a nice to have.
It's the foundation of allhealthy relationships and, at
the end of the day, if you'regoing to be influential with
your team, it's about having arelationship with those you lead
.
As Stephen Covey says in hisbook the Speed of Trust, trust
is the operating system in everyrelationship and without it
nothing else works.
Without trust, people hold back, conversations stay surface

(02:35):
level and teams lose momentum.
But when trust is strong,people engage, they speak up,
they take risks and deliverbetter results.
People engage, they speak up,they take risks and deliver
better results.
So if you've ever wondered howto get back on track with your
team, these three moves are yourgo-to strategy.
Trust builder number oneacknowledge and don't avoid.

(02:55):
So obviously, when trust isbroken, it can be an
uncomfortable situation.
I have leaders that get 360feedback and sometimes they're
not quite sure how to bridge thegap with their teams right
after they've gotten thatfeedback.
But the worst thing that aleader can do is stay silent.
Ignoring the issue doesn't makeit go away.

(03:16):
It just leaves people to fillin the blanks themselves, and
they usually don't assume thebest.
So the fastest path forward isto name it and own it.
There's a great talk by authorBrene Brown called the Anatomy
of Trust.
You can find it on YouTube, andwhat I love about it is that
she defines trust into its sevenmeasurable components, and one

(03:40):
of those components isaccountability.
Okay, she definesaccountability as taking
ownership of mistakes,apologizing sincerely and making
amends, which often meansacknowledging the impact.
It could be saying somethinglike I know I missed the mark
with how I handled that projectand I want to take

(04:01):
responsibility.
I realize that caused extrawork and stress for you and I
will be more mindful next time.
You don't need a 10-minuteapology, just a sincere moment
of accountability.
People do not expect a leaderto be perfect, but they do
expect them to be honest andaccountable.
The pressure to be perfect isoften a pressure that we put on

(04:24):
ourselves.
We think if we miss the marksomehow it will undermine
others' view of our competency.
But it's just not true.
Missing the mark occasionallymakes us human and people can
relate to that.
And when you're willing toacknowledge a gap whether it was
a broken promise, unclearcommunication or showing up
distracted it actually buildscredibility.

(04:47):
I experienced this myself whenin my 20s, I was working for a
non-profit and part of my jobwas taking groups of college
students abroad to dodevelopment work.
One particular summer we werein South Africa.
We'd had a great trip andclosed it out with a safari, and
then we headed to the airportand when I went to check in our

(05:08):
group for our flight, I realizedthe flight had left the
previous day.
And in that moment there was acouple options.
I could blame that on theairline or some kind of error on
their part, or takeaccountability as the leader for
misreading the itinerary andnot getting us out on time.

(05:29):
And I knew that facing the teamwould be difficult because it
would delay us by a couple daysgetting home.
But I did decide to own it, totake accountability, and I was
met with a lot of grace, in fact, for the rest of the time, us
figuring out how to get home andmake all those adjustments.

(05:50):
Everybody stepped in to help,everybody stepped in to support,
and I was pleasantly surprisedthat accountability was actually
a magnetic quality rather thana quality that caused my team to
question my credibility.
So once we've been accountable,once we've owned it, what's

(06:10):
next?
Trust builder number two iscommunicate clearly and
consistently.
So once you've acknowledged theissue, the next step is to
communicate clearly andconsistently.
This means saying what you'regoing to do to improve, being
transparent about progress andchecking in regularly.
If your team has been in thedark, even unintentionally,

(06:34):
trust is rebuilt with clarity.
This is especially importantduring uncertain times.
Maybe there have been layoffsand people are afraid of who's
next.
The key is not to make peopleguess.
Be intentional about stayingahead of communication.
Some things that you could sayare here's what you can expect

(06:55):
from me moving forward, orhere's how I'll keep you in the
loop, or if something changes,I'll let you know by X date.
I've worked with many leadersclosely during COVID who did
this very well.
Even if they didn't know whatwas next, they consistently kept
the lines of communication.
Open Consistency is what buildsreliability, and reliability is

(07:19):
the currency of trust.
So, now that you've owned it,now that you've communicated
about things going forward,what's next?
Trust builder number three isfollowing through with integrity
.
This is where many leaders losepeople, even after a great
apology or well-meaning update.
If you say you're going to dosomething, do it, even the small

(07:43):
stuff.
Show up, respond, give thefeedback you promised.
Follow through on theinvitation for lunch.
Don't cancel at the last minuteagain.
Whatever the commitment, followthrough.
I want to circle back again onBrene Brown's talk, the Anatomy
of Trust.
As I mentioned before.
She breaks down trust intoseven components, one of them

(08:05):
being accountability.
Another one of them isintegrity, and I love the way
that she defines it.
She defines integrity aschoosing courage over comfort,
choosing what is right over whatis fast, easy or fun, and
living your values, not justprofessing them, because your

(08:27):
actions become evidence.
The fastest way to rebuildtrust is to create small wins
that show you are genuinelycommitted.
If you want your team to feelheard, respond to their email
within the day.
Want to show you're committedto better communication.
Show up five minutes early toyour next one-on-one and bring

(08:47):
notes.
Every follow-through is adeposit into the trust bank and,
as leaders, one of our greatestareas of leverage is having
relational equity with those welead.
So let's recap the three thingsthat you want to do to quickly
rebuild trust as a leader.
Number one acknowledge, don'tavoid.

(09:09):
Own the issue, don't dancearound it.
Number two communicate clearlyand consistently.
Set expectations, follow up andreduce uncertainty.
And number three follow throughwith integrity.
Keep your word, even in smallways.
Show that change is happening.

(09:30):
So here's a challenge for thisweek.
Think about one relationshipwhere trust may be strained.
Then take one small step usingwhat you heard today.
Maybe it's a message toacknowledge something that went
wrong.
Maybe it's a clear update toreset expectations.
Or maybe it's a promise youneed to follow through on Today.

(09:52):
Whatever it is, start small andstart now, because trust can be
rebuilt and when it is, itbecomes even stronger than
before.
So I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
If this helped, you, share itwith one other leader.
You know who might need it.
And remember trust isn't aone-time win, it's a daily

(10:13):
choice.
So make a choice to make adeposit in someone's trust bank
today.
I'll see you next time.
Like what you heard on today'sepisode and want to go deeper?
Subscribe to this podcast soyou never miss an episode.
You can also pick up my bookLead Anyone on Amazon.
Then go to my website to checkout ways that we can support

(10:37):
your leadership goals.
From executive retreats tocustomized training and coaching
, my team of experts will helpyou level up your leadership and
accelerate your results.
Go to wwweliseboggscom for moreinfo.