Trust is the foundation of all successful relationships. A brilliant book on the subject is : ” The Trusted Advisor “ by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford. They open their work with a question:
” What benefits would you obtain if your clients trusted you more?”
They go on to explain that the more your clients trust you, the more they will:
- Reach for your advice
- Be inclined to accept and act on your recommendations
- Bring you in on more advanced, complex, strategic issues
- Treat you as you wish to be treated
- Respect you
- Share more information that helps you to help them, and improves the quality of the service you provide
- Pay your bills without question
- Refer you to their friends and business acquaintances
- Lower the level of stress in your interactions
- Give you the benefit of the doubt
- Forgive you when you make a mistake
- Protect you when you need it (even from their own organization)
- Warn you of dangers that you might avoid
- Be comfortable and allow you to be comfortable
- Involve you early on when their issues begin to form, rather than later in the process (or maybe even call you first!)
- Trust your instincts and judgments (including those about other people such as your colleagues and theirs)
