Summary
Executives and works councils are often surprised when collaboration suddenly comes under pressure. Wasn’t there always trust?
In reality, trust in organizations rarely disappears overnight. It erodes gradually, often unnoticed, until dialogue hardens and collaboration turns into positioning. In this blog, we explain how that process unfolds, which ingredients build or break trust, and what executive leadership and works councils can do in practice to restore trust before dialogue stalls or escalates.
Where does trust in organizations begin to fray and why?
When organizations ask CouncilWorks to support the restoration of labor relations, we often hear the same remark:
“We don’t understand it. We’ve always had a good relationship, and suddenly the trust was gone.”
In our experience, the moment leaders say this is rarely the beginning of the problem. More often, it is the moment when the problem can no longer be ignored. Dialogue becomes strained. The tone grows cautious. Positions harden. And what once felt like collaboration turns into positioning.
Trust in organizations does not disappear because of a single decision. It wears away through repetition; through small moments in which words and actions no longer fully align. Through conversations in which intentions are not spoken but assumed. Through doubts about each other’s roles and professionalism. And through experiences in which working together costs more energy than it delivers.
In The Speed of Trust, Stephen M. R. Covey describes trust in exactly these terms: not as a feeling, but as the cumulative result of behavior. Especially in the relationship between executive leadership and the works council, we see the same ingredients recurring. Ingredients that determine whether trust grows or erodes.
Which ingredients shape trust between executive leadership and the Works Council?
The first ingredient is integrity. Do you do what you say, and say what you do? For executives and works councils alike, this becomes visible precisely when things are uncomfortable; when dilemmas are put on the table despite their awkwardness, and when participation is more than a ritual and genuinely creates space for influence. Once words and behavior diverge, trust often disappears faster than expected.
Next, intentions play a decisive role. Not only what happens, but why. Many tensions arise when a works council suspects that efficiency matters more than people, while management believes the works council mainly wants to obstruct. As long as these assumptions remain implicit, they steer the dialogue beneath the surface. Trust grows when both parties articulate their real interests and where those interests overlap. That conversation is uncomfortable, but without it, mistrust remains in control.
A third ingredient is confidence in each other’s capabilities. Are both parties able to fulfill their roles effectively? Executives want to rely on a works council that thinks from an organization-wide perspective. Works councils want to rely on leaders who see employee participation as a strategic asset rather than a procedural obligation. Once doubts arise about each other’s professionalism, increased control and formalization tend to follow almost automatically, and trust erodes further.
The fourth ingredient is results. Trust is also built on experience. If earlier processes mainly led to delays, escalation, or legal disputes, those experiences shape future interactions. Good intentions alone are then insufficient. Trust in organizations is restored when collaboration starts to deliver again. Small, visible successes, where executive leadership and the works council achieve results together, build trust faster than any formal agreement ever could.
What can executive leadership and Works Councils do when trust is under pressure?
Once trust has been damaged, the common reflex is to make dialogue more formal: more documentation, more safeguards, more control. That may feel safe, but in practice it usually increases the costs of mistrust: more friction, less momentum. Effective recovery requires different behavior.
From executive leadership, this first requires acknowledgment: naming that trust is under pressure, without immediately turning it into a question of blame. It means sharing dilemmas earlier, even when solutions are not yet clear. It means involving the works council at the front end rather than at the finish line. And it means being visible and consistent in following through on agreements.
From works councils, it requires the willingness to articulate concerns clearly without immediately legalizing them. To continue distinguishing between intention and impact. To invest in substantive expertise and organizational understanding. And to actively seek common ground, especially when tensions arise.
Restoring trust in organizations does not happen because one party “gets it right,” but because both parties show movement.
Why trust Is ongoing maintenance, not emergency repair
The greatest misconception about trust in organizations is that it is something you fix once it is broken. In reality, trust requires daily maintenance, especially when things appear to be going well. Our experience is that leaders who say they “never saw it coming” often did see it coming but did not recognize it as a signal.
Paying attention to trust is not about being soft. It is about the organization’s ability to make decisions faster and move forward, reducing friction, and improving collaboration. Ultimately, it is about organizations that spend their energy on strategy, purpose, and customers, rather than on internal struggle.
Engage CouncilWorks before dialogue breaks down
Do you recognize these patterns in the interaction between executive leadership and the works council? Does dialogue feel heavier than necessary or more formal than desirable? Don’t wait until trust erodes further.
CouncilWorks helps executive leadership and works councils recognize trust erosion early and work together on recovery. Not through standard solutions, but by closely examining behavior, patterns, and underlying tensions.
Learn more about our approach at our website or contact us for an exploratory conversation.