Is it Possible to Rebuild Trust?

May 2022

Have you ever worked for a company that you believed was one of the best places to work on earth, but then, suddenly, due to unfathomable decisions made in the C-Suite, the brand took a nosedive? When deliberate executive actions yield devastating results, is there anything an enterprise can do to rebuild the public’s trust?

Over the past year or two, it’s been fashionable for holier-than-thou executives, in charge of some of the world’s most beloved brand names, to make bold pronouncements in support of controversial political ideologies, healthcare mandates, social theories, and more. Such proclamations here-to-fore were considered taboo.  

When a famous brand makes an unexpected entrance into the national debate, and takes a side on the ideological battlefield, employees can feel demoralized, customers become alienated, and shareholder value can be undermined. Even former employees may become disgusted, and retirees—who proudly dedicated their lives to building the brand’s reputation—may feel a devastating blow.

One case in point is the Walt Disney Company, the largest media company on earth.  In a mere matter of months, Disney leadership managed to shatter their Happiest Place on Earth reputation by boldly condemning Florida’s newly enacted Parental Rights in Education legislation. This blatant act not only drove employees to protest in outrage—on both sides of the issue—it tarnished the image of the entire enterprise, from Disney’s themes parks, cruise line and hospitality services, to its TV and radio networks, production studios and publishers.

In Heartfelt Leadership: How to Capture the Top Spot and Keep on Soaring, I spotlighted how I treasured my early experiences as a Disney cast member. Much of what I espouse about leadership and creating best place to work cultures came directly from my time working as a dancer at Disneyland.

Disney set the bar for job performance and work ethic against which I have measured every other career experience of my life. Disney’s culture set the cornerstone for the leader I ultimately became. To see what can so suddenly happen to such a meticulously crafted brand is shocking. My heart goes out to the thousands of talented and dedicated employees and retirees who must, like me, feel betrayed.   

A decade after leaving Disney I joined another beloved brand, IBM.  Their basic belief in Respect for the Individual—honoring everyone’s rights and dignity—served as another bedrock in my leadership philosophy, as did their unwritten rule that politics, sex, and religion should never be discussed in the workplace.

It’s not that people don’t have a right to their own political philosophies, religious beliefs, and sexual preferences. It’s just that imposing one’s personal ideologies on others tends to make most people uncomfortable—the antithesis of Respect for the Individual. More importantly, it detracts from the attainment of the organization’s mission and objectives.

The leadership principals I learned at IBM have traditionally been part of Disney’s culture, too. In the opening chapter of Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney, Lee Cockerell, former Executive VP of Operations for Walt Disney World Resort, shared the Disney mantra: “It’s not the magic that makes it work; it’s the way we work that makes it magic.” Cockerell further explained, “Everyone who works at Walt Disney World® Resort learns that principle, and the result has been magic for the Guests and for the bottom line.”

Too bad the current Disney executive team seems to have misconstrued that very important principal. As a result, the Walt Disney Company’s stock price has fallen over 35% in the past 12 months (4/22/21 to 4/22/22):

It remains to be seen whether Disney can pull itself out of this downward trend. To do so, Disney must immediately rekindle its dedication to making the kind of magic their audiences have come to expect—first-class, wholesome, and magical family-oriented entertainment. They must also institute a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that is subversive to this mission.  

Because disgruntled employees rarely make magic, the top priority for leadership must be to make things right internally as fast as possible. They should use Tinker Bell’s magic wand to rid the organization, top-to-bottom / left-to-right, of anyone who instigated or took part in implementing the cultural breaches or political miscalculations past and present.  

A shiny new executive team should then immediately embark on a global apology tour to take public responsibility for the mess the company is in. They should personally make amends with all remaining employees, level-by-level, using what I call the side-by-side approach, as described in chapter 3 of Heartfelt Leadership. 

Essentially, every manager should sit down, side-by-side, with each of their team members to have a heart-to-heart conversion. One at a time, the manager should elicit each employee’s feedback, listen intently, and empathize with any negative observations by saying something like, “I can imagine you feel as though nobody in leadership really knows what it’s like to feel (whatever adjective is most appropriate, like this betrayed, or this angry, or this scared, or disappointed, etc.).”    

By describing precisely what the employee is feeling, the manger can help assure that he / she really does understand. This can help shift the employee to a more positive point of view. From there it is possible to dialog about what the employee believes should be done to remedy the situation and brainstorm other ideas to help bring the magic back.

Every level of management must admit “We really screwed up, but we intend to fix this as quickly as possible. We’ve already done x, y, and z, and I will be sharing your ideas with …(whoever). Just give me a few days and I’ll then get back to you and the team with a plan.” 

This should foster some forward momentum. The key will be for leadership to make any proposed solutions reality. Until employees believe in the magic again, guests and viewers never will.

It’s a big, difficult job, especially for a brand as far reaching as the Walt Disney Company, but it can be done. Magic has always been and hopefully will once again return as the fundamental reality of Disney’s culture.

So, yes, it is possible to rebuild trust, but it can be a Herculean effort. Here’s wishing upon a star that Disney will discover the key to becoming even more magical than it’s ever been before.