Change.

It won’t work the first time.

Nor the second, third, or fourth.

Maybe you coaxing us out of our trenches with your jaunty invitation to be open and honest in our feedback will take fifteen or twenty times before any of us ventures forth.

The rest of us will stay hidden behind our fake smiles and ‘Nothing to see here’ rote behaviours, watching out of the corner of our eyes how you respond to that brave worker who speaks honestly to you. We will keep watching. It may take weeks, months, or even years before we trust you enough.

Can you blame us? The workplace is littered with stories of what happened to those who took you on your word - or took another boss on theirs in another workplace. Or knows someone who knows someone who did.

Power will buy you many things - but not Trust.