By Nigel Purse (United Kingdom)
It is not uncommon for Executive Coaches at The Oxford Group (or anywhere else for that matter) to be working with clients whose relationships at work are standing in the way of their and their organization’s success. As a leader, having trusting relationships with the people who work for and with them is at the heart of getting things done. When trust exists in a relationship we are open to ideas, possibilities and collaboration. Where trust is absent, we are closed, defensive and suspicious. Where a trusting relationship exists, we are likely to be engaged – proud to belong to our organisation, willing to go the extra mile and committed to building our career.
However, for coachee to be able to start building (or re-building as the case may be) trusting relationships, they firstly need to understand that trust comes from a combination of factors, such as credibility, reliability and intimacy. But even when they understand those factors, how can they actually build them? With so many factors that can impact on trust, how can a leader know which factors are most important and where to place most effort?
Source: iCN Issue 9 (Sales Coaching); pages 36-38
About Nigel Purse
Nigel Purse, author of ‘5 Conversations: How to transform trust, engagement and performance at work’ examines why and how conversations are the key to building trusting relationships at work.
Nigel Purse graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Modern History. He founded the Oxford Group in 1986, following a career in HR at BP and working in Leadership Development at Mars Inc. Nigel has grown The Oxford Group from a one-man business to a global Learning & Development firm working for many of the world’s most respected organizations, with 250 employees worldwide. Nigel heads The Oxford Group’s work in designing and delivering global Leadership and Management Development programmes.
Email: nigel.purse@oxford-group.com
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/nigelpurse
Twitter: @The_OxfordGroup
