Common Mistakes that Leaders Make During a Crisis that Negatively Impact Trust

Introduction

During a crisis, leadership trust is fragile.

How a leader behaves can either build resilience and loyalty, or create lasting damage.

A crisis can be caused by technological changes, policy shifts, market changes, etc.

The crisis creates uncertainty, and it is important how you respond as a leader. Sometimes uncertainty creates the need for tough decisions that are not necessarily popular.

Some common mistakes leaders make during a crisis that erode trust:

1. Lack of Transparency

Mistake: Withholding critical information or sugar-coating the truth.
Impact: Team members feel misled, unsure and suspicious.
What to do instead: Be honest about what you know, what you don’t and what you're doing to find out; focus on solutions once challenges are understood.

2. Poor Communication (especially of bad news)

Mistake: Going silent or offering vague, inconsistent updates.
Impact: Uncertainty fills the vacuum; rumours/gossip/misinformation, etc takes over.
What to do instead: Communicate early, often and clearly—even if the message is “We’re still assessing.”; allow others to understand what's going on so that they can effectively help.

3. Avoiding Accountability

Mistake: Blaming others; dodging tough decisions; failing to take responsibility.
Impact: Credibility plummets; people lose respect; can create a culture of fear.
What to do instead: Own your role; admit mistakes quickly; model accountability; don't suspend essential processes, checks and balances; move quickly to solutions.

4. Appearing Detached or Unempathetic

Mistake: Focusing only on numbers, strategy, or optics while ignoring the human impact.
Impact: Team members feel like ‘cogs’ in a machine rather than valued people.
What to do instead: Show empathy; acknowledge stress, fear, or loss—especially when people are affected personally.

5. Inconsistent Actions

Mistake: Saying one thing and doing another, or applying rules unevenly; flip-flopping.
Impact: Trust is eroded when behaviour doesn’t align with values.
What to do instead: Demonstrate consistency and fairness in policies and decisions; action follows words, ie do as you say; conduct due diligence, decide a direction and commit to seeing it through; continually review and modify as required; explain the ‘why’ behind decisions.

6. Overpromising or Offering False Hope

Mistake: Making unrealistic promises to calm people down.
Impact: When promises are broken, trust is even harder to rebuild.
What to do instead: Balance optimism with realism: “We will get through this, but it will be tough.”

7. Delaying Difficult Decisions

Mistake: Waiting too long to act; hoping the crisis will pass on its own; overwhelmed with ‘paralysis by analysis’ and unable to act.
Impact: Problems worsen and confidence in leadership fades.
What to do instead: Act decisively with the information available; be prepared to adjust as new facts emerge.

8. Ignoring Stakeholder Input

Mistake: making unilateral decisions, or making decisions in a silo, without engaging other stakeholders, like staff, customers, partners, etc.
Impact: Solutions may be impractical; morale drops; lack of stakeholder ownership.
What to do instead: Listen actively and include diverse perspectives, ideas, etc in decision-making; encourage brainstorming, etc; group decisions encourage buy-in/ownership; encourage continual and authentic feedback.

9. 9. Panicking

Mistake: Leaders project their negative energy and emotions on to others

Impact: When a leader panics, so does everyone else

What to do instead: Don't catastrophise; be authentic in your level of concern and focus; keep calm

10. Tolerating Bad Behaviour

Mistake: when people are under stress they can act inappropriately

Impact: Bad behaviour can negatively impact performance, morale, etc

What to do instead: Advise the perpetrators of their poor behaviour

Summary Checklist: Crisis Leadership That Builds Trust

NB

“…How leaders navigate a critical moment can make all the difference. Successful leaders turn towards their team in times of crisis - humbly realising that they alone do not have all the answers. If you trust your team to help you handle the turbulence, they will trust you in return…”

Meg Crosby, 2025