Becoming Trustable Confidant

a Group Program for Consulting Firms

who wish to develop their talented people into Trusted Advisors

The phrase “Trusted Advisor” is fairly known among the IT community. It became popular from the book titled The Trusted Advisor (released 2001) written by David Maister, Robert Galford and Charles Green.

In this book, the authors build their case through illustrations in order to relay a series of suggestions applicable to any consultant. Among these suggestions, is a five-step development process that encourages consultants to engage clients by

• focusing attention on the issues and individuals at hand;

• listening both to what they say and don't say;

• framing the immediate problem from the perspective of their client;

• envisioning with them how a solution might appear;

• and committing jointly to the actions and resources that will bring it about.

Let’s spend a little more time to fully understand this title – Trusted Advisor.

This is a title that can only be bestowed upon you by another person. You cannot self-appoint yourself as a Trusted Advisor for someone. This means that before they decide that you are their Trusted Advisor, they will evaluate you on many different criteria. You are required to pass, on those criteria. In other words, someone will trust you if they see you as trustworthy.

You will be trust-ed if the other person finds you trust-able.

Now being trustable is half the equation. If you want your clients or your stakeholders to involve you from the very beginning when they thought of an idea, then Advisor is not the status to aim for. For that to happen, your clients or your stakeholders should see you as a Sounding Board. They should feel open to bounce back ideas with you without any need for advice. They should feel comfortable to involve you in discussions, brainstorming or ideas exploration even if such conversations don’t lead to anything. They could openly disclose information to you without feeling the pressure that they may be wasting your time. They feel open to have any conversation.

In essence, your clients or stakeholders are looking for a person that they can trust and have a bi-lateral dialog without any expectation of advice.

We call such a Professional, a Trustable Confidant.

Top 7 Benefits

Upon successful completion of this program, they will become someone –

1. Who is highly skilled in dealing with people in the most productive and efficient way

2. Who is highly respected and regarded by Stakeholders as a Trusted Advisor in general

3. Who has established themselves as the go-to person in their circle of influence

4. Who has outstanding negotiation skills driven by identifying a Win-Win option in any given situation

5. Who is highly influential in their written and spoken communication

6. Who is highly motivated, driven and can inspire themselves and their team in any situation

7. Who is a master of building and maintaining trust and rapport with people

Who should attend?

This program is suitable for a consultant -

• Who wants to deal with difficult people and situations better

• Who wants to take their conflict management skills to a whole new level

• Who wants to connect and build rapport with people who are very different to them. People they have always avoided because they don't know what to do

• Who wants to take their negotiation skills to a whole new level

• Who wants to take their leadership skills to a whole new level

• Who wants to bring a positive change in many different aspects of their life - not just work. Because when they are fulfilled, then they create positive ripples for others. They become attractive. People feel good to be around them and associate with them.

• Who believes that change begins with them. Meaning that they are ready to take full responsibility and ownership of their actions and no-actions