There is a definite pattern of recovery behaviors that helps leadership reestablish trust following a trust-busting, reputation-redefining circumstance. The message is, when these situations occur, get the following recovery strategies working immediately, and things will get better fairly quickly.

1. Stop producing victims and critics: change your behavior, change your language, change your vocabulary, and recognize the power victims have to further damage your reputation and trust relationships.

2. Build followerships: Reconnect, reestablish, and reconvene those who are critical to reestablishing your leadership and trust.

3. Build trust at every opportunity: Trust is a behavior, trust must be vocalized, and trust must be explained and expected.

4. Rebuild and maintain your base: Focus on those closest to you, employees, retirees, their families, as well as those with who the organization has relationships.

5. Manage the victim dimension: Victims and critics live forever. They are always with you. Pay attention to them, literally, for the rest of their lives. Failure to do this often reignites their victimization and their criticisms and your untrustworthiness.

6. Manage your own destiny: Everything said, written, broadcast or otherwise created about you and your organization lives forever. You need a strategy to correct, clarify and comment on these things. Failure to manage your own destiny leaves it to somebody else ready to do it for you.

Your management recovery mantra: If it’s simple, sensible, sincere, constructive and positive, do it now. Forget the rest.

James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, Fellow IABC; APR, Fellow PRSA, BEPS Emeritus

If you have questions, or would like to dive more deeply into the subject of this blog, you can reach me 24/7 at jel@e911.com; 203-948-7029 (voicemail, email, text). I look forward, as a friend and colleague, to helping you achieve the objectives you’ve set for yourself for having a happier, more influential, successful and meaningful career.

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