A True Test of Trust
I have been out of the radar for a while as last week I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Trusted Advisors Associates programme “Being a Trusted Advisor” held in Washington D.C. on December 8th and 9th.
The reason why I was there was to participate in a live programme conducted by Charlie Green and Andrea Howe, along with Sandy Styer and Stewart Hirsch, the programme leaders of the Trusted Advisor Associates team. The one and a half day programme, “Being a Trusted Advisor,” was attended by approximately 31 people with approximately 21 attendees from various backgrounds and companies from consulting firms, to bio-tech companies, to non-profit organizations, Etc.
I was also there to “earn my stripes” as a programme developer and facilitator for Trusted Advisor Associates in Singapore and Asia. There were about 10 of us there for coaching and facilitating purposes coming from as far away as the UK, Israel and Singapore (yes, that is me).
There was great enthusiasm from everyone, and I believe that is due to the content, the validity and the timeliness of the topic of trust. Everyone seems to believe that trust REALLY works (I am and have been convinced from the beginning). But what really caught me and made me believe (also probably true for others) as to why trust is so powerful was how the Trusted Advisors Associates team led the programme with their trust values and beliefs.
All in all I observed the following (and more) in action:
Collaboration
Transparency
Authenticity
Empathy
“Zero” ego
Intimacy
…and more.
All of this made me feel even more strongly that I wanted to be a part of a winning team. But, what struck me the most was how Charlie handled the contract situation. Rather than sign documents for NDAs, various agreements, Etc. for intellectual property, we simply raised our hands and repeated an oath.
WOW! Business made simple. Faster. Easier. All based on trust.
To quote Charlie, ”It’s a win-win. Except maybe for the lawyers.”
Just imagine. I am an actual ”client” of the Trusted Advisors Associates team (as I will pay them licensing fees). How does this “treatment of trust” make me feel? To be honest, great. Now, put yourself in the shoes of your client, practice these principles (and more) and see how effective all of this can be. Imagine how they will feel?
For more on this, Charlie wrote the following article Can Trust Replace Contracts?
I am truly impressed, happy and proud to be a part of this amazing team and programme. Thank you Charlie, Andrea, Sandy and Stewart.
Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore
Tags: Trust
