Remote Leadership and Trust Repair After Conflict

Abstract

Trust is harder to rebuild when conflict occurs between people who rarely meet. In an experiment with 310 remote managers, we tested apology, restitution and joint problem solving as ways to repair trust after a simulated breach. Joint problem solving restored trust most reliably, while apologies helped only when followed by visible action. Participants with prior face-to-face contact recovered faster. The article suggests how remote leaders can combine communication and concrete steps to repair relationships.