I have moderated well over 200
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Here I offer 7 tips to develop your skills in earning and owning the role of trusted advisor:
- Do it right- take personal ownership of everything you do. People gravitate to people that get it done, and do it in the right way (without running people over in the process).
- Listen, listen, listen- listening is an art and really good listeners are few and far between. Effective listening is a key to building trust with anyone and can help you earn trust more quickly. The key to understanding anyone is listening to them. This encompasses taking the time to understand where they are coming from and why. If you are taking your time to speak with someone take your brain out of multi-task mode. People know when you are engaged and actively listening to them. I had a job interview with a CEO who was infamous for chewing up and spitting out any candidate
HR sent him to fill a position that involved working directly with him. During the interview I listened to him intently, not only verbally, but to his non-verbal cues, and spoke few words. I saw him glance over to a model ship that must spent months to build. My dad had built these ships and I needed to take arisk and take the conversation off course to mention the ship. Once I got him there, a quiet, hard-nosed man, opened up to me, and we were both able to “relax” , and I ended up getting that job. - Understand your company inside and out- opportunities to engage colleagues are opened wide if you know your company inside and out. This gives you quality conversation starters with any colleague from CEO to
accounting clerk you encounter whether it be in an elevator, at a company lunch, or in a meeting. - Take an interest in what your colleagues do and their professional success- it is easy to identify the people who drive “getting it done” in any department across the enterprise. These are key people to engage and from whom to earn trust. Understand what they do, the challenges they face, and how you may be able to support them. This builds the foundation of trust, and a mutually beneficial professional relationship. Invite them to lunch, talk to them a company event, or sit near them at a meeting, and take it from there.
- Take a bullet for a colleague- if there is “finger pointing” going on and you and colleagues are in the line of fire of the finger pointer, even the CEO, take on for the team. Nothing builds loyalty and trust more than being a team player.
- Be a human being- do not have a business and personal switch. Act like a human being first and a professional colleague second. This can be a tough at times, but showing that you care beyond the walls of your employer builds trust
- Own Your Mistakes- do not hide from your mistakes. Find the value in them, communicate them openly, own them, and help create a culture in which not making a mistake is much worse than making one. People respect someone who take responsibility for what they do wrong.
What advice do you have to share to help anyone in the office of the