In the world of consulting, trust is everything. The floor and ceiling of your success as a consultant is determined by your ability to build and maintain trust.
Here are the top ways I have learned to #BuildTrust with clients and team members over the last 15 years:
💪 Do everything in my power to keep the ball in my court
😴 Don’t make anyone have to repeat themselves
👂 Actively listen to understand root cause pain and issues
🤝 Look for things I like about someone, no matter how easy or difficult they are to work with
🕐 Your time is more important than my time
🤙 Give someone the benefit of the doubt if things go off the rails
🪞 Mirror their social needs, analytical mindset, sense of humor, big-picture viewpoint, attention to detail, and directness
📝 Communicate about and clarify assumptions
📈 Make recommendations from my expertise
📅 Deliver on my commitments early, as often as I can
💲 Finish under budget
⚡ Respond to messages as quickly as possible, even if it’s just to let them know when to expect a full reply
🗣️ Never be late without communicating ahead of the due date
🤗 Empathize, even when I don’t agree
😅 Own all my mistakes proactively
🌞 Make it fun, life is too short
(Throwback photo to an awesome team lunch at Intrigue Media in 2018! I learned so many of these things in my time there.)
Seth Partridge 
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