As I was catching up on my post-holiday reading, I ran across the following headline:

"Most returning to work for a bad boss. Two in five managers don’t keep their word, a survey shows."

The article was released by the Associated Press and described the results of a survey on employees’ perceptions of their bosses. The results of the study were alarming if not surprising. People report that their bosses don’t keep their promises, fail to give appropriate credit, make negative comments about their employees to others, give employees the silent treatment, etc. Of course perceptions are just that – perceptions! Yet the study corroborates some of my own more subjective observations that discontent among corporate employees is widespread. I have witnessed the erosion of trust in the work place for the past few years. Of course the causes are many and the issues are complex.

In some cases, the discontent and distrust stems from managers who are either not equipped or unwilling to communicate directly with their employees. In other cases, the problems seem to stem from the perception that the company and the boss that represents it have violated the unspoken and unwritten, yet powerful psychological contract. Trust can dissolve quickly – sometimes literally overnight. And reestablishing trust is a long, arduous process.

I would challenge all of us who wish to be strong and effective leaders to focus on reestablishing trust in our own work places. I realize that this is a lofty goal. Yet I can think of no better New Year's resolution for managers in the year 2007.