Want to Regain Trust? Catch Distrust Early

Trust thought for today - Want to regain trust? Catch distrust early.

If distrust is caught early when people are less committed, it is more likely you can regain it. Changing one's mind gets less likely the more passionately held the feelings are.

Been reading a bit about cognitive dissonance - how we can hold powerful beliefs which don't shift even with new evidence and what changes people's minds. Felt it could be helpful in understanding how trust is lost & if it can be regained & in what circumstances.

Margaret Heffernan in her book Wilful Blindness talks about Marian Keech, who predicted the world would be entirely flooded on 21st December and only she and her followers would be taken by flying saucer to safety. Her followers trusted her totally. Some sold their houses, gave up their jobs and all waited expectantly for their redemption.

Lo and behold it didn't happen. But instead of skulking sheepishly into the shadows Keech announced it was the force of their collective goodness which had saved the world! Hurray! They were even more committed and excited than before. The ones who completely gave up their belief were the ones who were the least committed from the outset.

A fun story and a stretch perhaps to relate to trust. But seeing it alot, that trust escalates from mild to extreme views. If organisations can respond quickly and early they may be able to head off the escalation to intractable distrust.

More to come on that in the new Trustworthiness and Trust Course and Toolkit launched next week!