Guest Author Blog: Dr. Dennis and Dr. Michelle Reina, authors, Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace

Everyone has experienced gossiping, missed deadlines, someone taking credit for other people’s work, and “little white lies.”

As a result, you maybe feeling less engaged, less committed, and more skeptical at work.

Or, you may find yourself isolated or caught in the middle of coworkers’ interpersonal conflicts.

You may have been hurt. You may have realized that you inadvertently let others down. Or you may be wondering how to help others reeling from broken trust.

If so, you may be experiencing the symptoms of broken trust in workplace relationships. Small but hurtful situations accumulate over time into the confidence-busting, commitment-breaking, energy-draining patterns consistent with broken trust.

For the last two decades, I and Dr. Michelle Reina, as principals of The Reina Trust Building Institute, have been supporting leaders and their organizations in building and rebuilding trust to drive business results. From our research, we have found that 90% of employees in the workplace feel the effects of eroded trust on a daily basis.

There is a solution.

We have written a new book, "Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace: Seven Steps for Renewing Confidence, Commitment and Energy" (Berrett-Koehler). It is the first and only book to focus specifically on rebuilding trust and recovering from workplace betrayals.

We give equal weight to what to do when you have hurt others. There is a chapter for each of the Seven Steps. We walk you through a proven process for restoring trust and healing for everyone involved: the person who has been betrayed, the person who hurt someone else, and the person who wants to help others.

The importance of trust in the workplace is universally understood. Individuals, teams and organizations where high trust is present are more collaborative, dynamic and productive.

What is not so clearly understood is how to sustain trust in the workplace, particularly in this volatile economy. In all relationships, trust will be built and trust will be broken. This reality is especially true during these uncertain times. Broken trust is simply the natural outcome of people interacting with one another.

From our research and practice we have found that the only way to sustain trust is knowing how to rebuild it again and again - knowing how to do this will result in employees who take responsibility, forgive, let go, and move on from let downs, disappointments and breached trust. As a result, you will have people who will want to go to work again and give their organizations their best thinking, highest intention, risk taking, and creativity.

More Workplace Strategies

Current DateTime: 11:41:17 09 Feb 2012
LinksList Documentid: 39078928

• Wanna Keep Those Employees? Try Some Trust
• Dealing With Difficult Office Colleagues
• Sex, Money, and Power: How to Avoid Disaster

Dr. Dennis and Dr. Michelle Reina have devoted almost two decades of their professional lives to developing a comprehensive Trust-Building® approach that helps people renew confidence, commitment, and energy in their relationships, transform cultures, and produce business results.

Dennis & Michelle Reina

Together and independently, they are sought-after consultants, keynote speakers, and executive coaches. Their strength lies in their proven ability to combine a rigorous, research-based foundation with a compassionate approach that recognizes the human aspect of trust. Their business-best selling first book, Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in your Organization won the 2007 Nautilus Book Award and the 2008 Axiom Book Award. They are the co-founders of The Reina Trust Building Institute.Have a book suggestion?Email me at — And follow me on Twitter @BullishonBooks