Hmm. It’s always harder to regain trust after it’s been lost, but here are my thoughts:
* Has there been an acknowledgement of what went wrong? Admitting a mistake frequently goes much farther than simply adjusting direction without ever recognizing that the poor communication happened.
* Is the message being delivered by the same people? Sometimes, there’s a personality conflict, especially if the person who delivered the poor communication before is continuing to do it now. Is there an opportunity to shift the messenger in an effort to re-establish credibility?
* When all else fails, are there individual conversations that can be had with key resources at the target? It’s a tough conversation to say, “We messed up – we need your help in getting things back on track. Do you have any thoughts on how we can overcome the obstacles we created?” Having a few one-on-one conversations and establishing new champions could be a good road toward rebuilding trust, though it raises the stakes considerably if you fail to implement their advice well on the second try!
