The Five A's of Rebuilding Trust

The Five A’s of Rebuilding Trust

Acknowledge that trust has been broken.

Don’t use the “ostrich” technique of burying your head in the sand and hoping the situation will resolve itself because it won’t. The longer you wait to address the situation, the more people will perceive your weakness as wickedness.

Admit your role in causing the breach of trust.

For some leaders this may be a challenging step. It’s one thing to acknowledge that there is a problem, it’s a whole other thing to admit you caused it. Our ego and false pride are usually what prevent us from admitting our mistakes. Muster up the courage, humble yourself, and own up to your actions. This will pay huge dividends down the road as you work to rebuild trust.

Apologize for what happened.

A sincere apology involves admitting your mistake, accepting responsibility, asking for forgiveness, and taking steps to make amends to the offended party. Explaining the reasons why something happened is fine, but don’t make excuses by trying to shift the blame to something or someone other than yourself.

Assess where the breakdown in trust happened using the TrustWorks model.

Did you erode trust by not being Able, Believable, Connected, or Dependable? People form perceptions of our trustworthiness when we use, or don’t use, behaviors that align with these four elements of trust. Knowing the specific element of trust you violated will help you take specific actions to fix the problem.

Amend the situation by taking corrective action to repair any damage that has been done, and create an action plan for how you’ll improve in the future.

Your attempts at rebuilding trust will be stalled unless you take this critical step to demonstrate noticeable changes in behavior.