As Christmas fast approaches I got to thinking about my family and how good (or not as the case maybe) we are at connecting and communicating. Connecting and communicating with others is a vital piece of business and life. It allows you to find the common ground with each other and so share experiences at a deeper level. The better you understand how someone else thinks and why they act in the way that they do, the easier it is get along with them and have meaningful conversations that can grow your business and you life
Of course, there is a paradox here because as your connection grows so does your trust, and yet trust is often needed before the connection can start. This is the dance of the connection – trust equation which was illustrated so brilliantly by the horses last week.
My VIP clients had flown in from Amsterdam for their annual business planning session with the horses. Every year they come to grow as leaders and get insights into their business goals for the following year. This year was no exception, except being their third visit they said that the learning’s and insights were even more profound than last year. It has been a privilege to watch them develop over the years.
Next year, they are proposing a new business model, one where they will be focusing on very high end packages which deliver deep transformation for their clients. However, in order to deliver these packages they need to step up their leadership skills. Specifically they needed to learn how to stay deeply connected to their clients, whilst also being “unavailable”, yet highly trustworthy.
Coach Toby demonstrated so amazing this conundrum because when my client went to connect with him, he walked away. He simply did not trust her enough to feel confident to connect with him. My client had to spend a lot of time building his trust by showing up as a consistent leader, who had clarity and certainty whilst also respecting his boundaries and the space he needed.
And so started the dance, with my client approaching and retreating. Giving Toby the space he needed so that he could feel comfortable with her and connect on his terms. It took some time but the results were incredible. Once he felt he trusted her, and she respected him, he was open to connect and the more he connected the deeper the trust grew between them. It was magical to watch. The end result was that she led him effortlessly through a complex obstacle course in a harmonious manner easily achieving her business goals for 2017.
And her takeaway was that as she launches her new programmes she must not rush her clients into them. Rather she needs to spend time building trust with her clients so that their relationship deepens and a lasting connection forms. From this space her clients will want to go on the journey with her just as Toby wanted to go through the obstacle course with her.
So over the Holiday Season please spend some time focusing on how you can build trust and connection with your family and friends. The results will amaze you.
Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
