How to win back your team when they don't trust you anymore

Trust is like a savings account — it takes time to build up, but you can blow through it in minutes. I learned this the hard way when I watched a company I worked for announce "we're all family here" on Monday, then lay off 30% of employees on Friday. The damage wasn't just financial — it was emotional.

If your team's rolling their eyes at corporate messages or treating announcements like spin, you're dealing with a trust deficit. Here's how to start rebuilding.

Your employees aren't stupid. When you say "rightsizing" instead of "layoffs" or call forced office returns a "collaboration opportunity," you're making things worse. People see through the fancy words to the hard reality underneath.

Instead, try being direct. "We need to cut costs, and that means some people will lose their jobs." It sounds harsh, but honesty builds more trust than sugar-coating ever will.

The fastest way to lose credibility is pretending everything's fine when it clearly isn't. If you've broken promises or made bad calls, say so. Leaders who admit they screwed up actually gain respect, not lose it.

A CEO I knew once told his team, "I pushed for this office mandate without really listening to your concerns. That was my mistake, and I want to fix it." His approval ratings went up, not down.

Actions matter more than words. If you're asking people to come back to the office, make sure the office is worth coming to. If you're cutting budgets, start with executive perks, not employee benefits.

One company I know froze executive bonuses before touching employee healthcare. That single move did more for morale than months of town halls could.

Mixed messages kill trust faster than bad news. If safety matters, don't pack people into cramped conference rooms. If innovation's important, don't slash the training budget. Your choices show what you really value.

Create spaces where people can share honest feedback without fear. Anonymous surveys are fine, but face-to-face conversations work better. When someone raises a concern, don't explain it away — explore it.

Trust doesn't come back overnight. You'll need to prove yourself through consistent actions over months, not weeks. Some people might never trust you again, and that's their right.

The good news? Most people want to trust their leaders. They're rooting for you to get it right. But they need to see real change, not just hear promises.

Building trust is hard work, but it's the most important work you'll do as a leader. Your team's watching — make sure what they see matches what they hear.