How to address trust issues at a cynical workplace

'Give it to me in writing,' I overheard a colleague telling her supervisor as I was rushing out for a meeting the other day. Now, you must know that journalists are a fairly impassioned bunch who get especially wound up when it comes to filling up lengthy forms, following administrative covenants and such mundane chores. I wouldn't have given it a second thought if it was one of those bones that were being picked. But something about the tone and tenor of her voice - the words were uttered with absolutely no hint of irritation or aggression, rather with an eerie composure - made me stop in my tracks.

I was curious to find out what had happened for her to seek a formal mandate instead of the verbal brief which is a newsroom norm. Turns out she has reason to believe that her supervisor recently reneged on a brief and may have blamed her for something that should ideally have been a shared responsibility.

Trust in today's workplace, sprinkled as it is with modern-day Brutuses who won't think twice before stabbing their BFFs in the back, is worth a king's ransom. If you're lucky enough to have it, you should do everything in your jurisdiction to not just retain it, but build it further. But if that glue of all relationships is missing from your workplace, there are a few steps that managers, team leaders and C-Suite members must take first to bridge that trust deficit.

An outright, unconditional apology for lying (or holding back the complete truth) is a prerequisite to rebuilding trust in a cynical workplace. Almost as important as that is to keep the message consistent: if you have a large team (over 20, say), it helps to repeat the same words on different occasions. Also, remember that trust is a two-way street. You will have to display faith in your peers to receive their trust. And finally, do unto them what you'd expect them to do to you. If you 'hear' something that bothers you, check with the person concerned directly instead of beating around the bush. I'll give that to you in writing.