Rebuilding Team Trust After a Leadership Promotion
LEADERSHIP COACHING · NEWLY PROMOTED DIRECTORA newly promoted director had tremendous potential. But as she stepped into greater responsibility, trust inside her team was beginning to break down. People felt unheard, and they had stopped offering honest feedback.
Seeing it from their side
She was smart, driven, and decisive. Her manager believed deeply in her potential and wanted to invest in her growth.
But her team was having a different experience. People felt their ideas were being dismissed, and over time, they became less willing to speak candidly.
Through one-on-one coaching and team facilitation, we started looking more closely at the relationship between her leadership and the trust within her team.
During a Five Behaviors workshop, we explored the idea of the “Invulnerable Leader.”
She recognized herself in the story.
Then we had a moment that brought it into focus.
Shortly afterward, she introduced significant changes without adequately preparing her team.
Afterwards, rather than tell her what I thought had gone wrong, I asked:
“How do you think that meeting went?”
I encouraged her to gather direct feedback from every member of her team and reflect on what she heard.
She realized she had moved too quickly.
Instead of defending the decision, she apologized to her team and rebuilt the process with greater collaboration.
What changed
Over time, communication improved, trust returned, and the team began working together more effectively.
Months later, the team was recognizing and applauding the progress they had made together.
The larger lesson
“The quality of your decisions depends on the quality of the conversations that happen before you make them.”
For me, this story isn’t about a leader getting everything right.
It’s about what can happen when a leader becomes willing to hear how their leadership is actually landing, take responsibility for what they find, and do something differently.
That’s where growth can begin.
