How to Rebuild Trust in Work Relationships

 

 

Ways to Rebuild Trust After a Violation

How do you rebuild trust? How do you move forward in a friendship or even a company when there has been a breach of confidence? In this article, we will discuss the ways to rebuild trust within our school, within our school district, with our parents,  and with our students.

Acknowledge that there is a problem

Once trust has been broken within your school, the first thing you need to do is to acknowledge that there's a problem. Then, find out what caused the problem. Next, move forward with trying to fix that problem. Now is the time to go ahead and have those hard conversations. No, they are not pleasant, but you have to do it if you are going to rebuild trust within your organization.

Create an Atmosphere of Safety

Make sure that everyone involved feels comfortable to be open and honest. They have to know that they are safe to talk about their feelings. They have to feel safe to talk about what happened and what needs to be done in order to fix the situation.

Admit Mistakes

Be willing to admit any mistakes. Be willing to acknowledge the indiscretion. Discuss ways to move past it.

Don’t Play the Blame Game

Don’t assign blame to anyone unless it is you. Allow the man or woman who caused the violation to own up to their part in the incident.

Respect Guideline

Respect the opinions of those involved in those tough conversations.

We are not all going to get along. We are going to have to accept that. Other people have different opinions and/or different beliefs. We are not identical duplicates of each other. Everyone needs to respect each other’s opinions. You can do that by establishing guidelines of respect.

Consistency is Key

You also must make sure that you are consistent. You are going to have to do what you said you are going to do when you said you were going do it. And, you are going to have to do it over and over again. You can’t be consistent for a day or a week or even a month. You have to remain consistent every time.

Be Willing to Forgive

Hurt has been caused. Wounds have been inflicted. Chaos has ensued. Nevertheless, you have to be willing to forgive. You have to be willing to leave those hurt feelings in the past and move forward so that healing can begin.

However, I am not asking anyone to forget. The reason that you are not going to forget is, so you don't make the same mistake again. But, you have to forgive this person. You have to forgive the company…you have to forgive whatever it is.

Move Forward

You have to move forward. You can't be held hostage by the past. Once you have identified the problem and had those difficult conversations, you have to be willing to think beyond myself. You have to look at the whole picture.

Things Won’t be the Same

Accept that things are not going to be the same. You are going to have to rebuild. You are going to have to reestablish trust.

It can be difficult to rebuild trust. However, it can be done. It will take time. You start by identifying the problem and working with your team to discover ways to fix the problem.