Why Your Staff Doesn’t Believe You (Yet)
“The problem isn’t that your people can’t change… It’s that they don’t trust you to lead the change.”
In one of my first staff meetings at a turnaround school, I said, “This year, everything changes.”
And they smiled.
Nodded.
Then… went back to doing exactly what they had always done.
It wasn’t sabotage.
It was self-preservation.
They had survived 3 principals in 5 years.
They had seen mission statements come and go.
They had watched “transformational leadership” become a PowerPoint slide and nothing more.
So when I spoke with clarity and urgency, they didn’t doubt change.
They doubted me.
Leadership Law: Belief is borrowed. Trust is earned.
You cannot lead transformation if your people don’t believe your words translate to action.
Your title might demand compliance, but belief?
That must be earned in the trenches.
Here’s what I learned:
Consistency matters more than charisma.
Visibility trumps vision statements.
Staff need to see receipts.
You say “students first”? Prove it by sitting in classrooms.
You say “we’re a team”? Prove it by sharing the load when it’s messy.
You say “no tolerance for failure”? Prove it by confronting mediocrity, even when it’s politically risky.
Case Study: Howard Schultz and the Starbucks Comeback
When Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks in 2008 during a massive slump, he didn’t give a rousing speech first.
He shut down 7,100 stores for 3 hours to retrain every single barista on how to pull an espresso shot.
It wasn’t about coffee.
It was about belief.
He wanted his people to feel the change before he talked about it.
Because leaders who show before they speak build credibility that sticks.
The Real Work: Become Believable
If your team doesn’t believe you yet, don’t get defensive.
Get disciplined.
Audit the gap between what you say and what you do
Stop over-promising and start over-delivering
Make one move that proves you’re different than what they’ve seen before
You don’t need everyone to believe you on Day 1.
You just need to be undeniably aligned with the mission every day after that.
Reflection Prompt:
“Where is my team waiting to see me do before they choose to believe?”
Real leadership is less about inspiration and more about demonstration.
Speak less. Prove more. Then they’ll believe.
— Uche
