by Robert J. Bies, Ph.D., McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

Over the past two years—or what I refer to as the “Era of Bad News”— leaders have faced a deep erosion of trust in their leadership. Whether it be employees experiencing increasing mistrust in corporate leaders and their decisions—or citizens believing that politicians are “out of touch” with their everyday concerns—leaders from all sectors are faced with growing doubts about their ability to “right the ship” and return to better days.

But what can leaders do to rebuild the trust that they have lost? My research and work with executives suggests that leaders have to go back to “the fundamentals” of trust building. The fundamentals of everyday trust building are: Tell the truth; Listen, listen, and then listen; Share information on a regular basis; Practice C__