Welcome back to the Look and Sound of Leadership, an ongoing series of

executive coaching tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the

way you want to be perceived. I'm Tom Henschel, your

executive coach and today we're talking about a key component of trust. Recently

a client asked if I knew any consultants with a very particular expertise.

A woman named Jeanette leapt to mind. She seemed to be a perfect match, but I didn't refer her.

Here's why. I'd run into Jeanette a few months earlier. We sat down to

chat and as always Jeanette was engaging and entertaining and articulate. She told me about some exciting

changes in her business and a new project she was involved in.

Then she asked what was new with me.

I told her I was glad I'd run into her because a client of mine had a problem that seemed

to be right up her alley.

I began to sketch the situation for her and she jumped in and said

I know exactly what you're talking about. Here's what I think's going to happen and she

rattled off a solution that actually was pretty smart. But later, reflecting on the exchange, I felt Jeunette's

insights might not be on target because she'd given her solution before I'd

really explain my problem. I didn't fully trust her ideas.

Months later, that low trust kept me from referring her even though I thought her expertise might be what the client was looking for.

Here's a different story. An Executive Vice President

had her team at a resort for a three-day off-site event. I was facilitating day one and two.

On the first day, we all retired for lunch to a lovely patio with an ocean view.

For the next 70 minutes she talked about her lessons learned with the Executive Committee,

...