What are the best ways to influence senior leaders and build trust?

As I emphasize in my training workshops, senior leaders are: 1. Busy 2. Smart 3. Impatient If they’re busy, approach them and be direct to the point. They appreciate candor. Tell them what you need/want from them so they know how to support you. They’re smart (they wouldn’t be where they are if they aren’t). Anticipate their questions and objections. Overprepare. Admit it if you don’t know something and give an action plan. Because they are impatient, value their time. Deliver your message using brief, on point sentences but with complete ideas.

I think knowing your audience when in comes to dealing with anyone is important. I'd argue it is probably more important with senior leaders as they are usually busier and your interaction may well be limited. What has worked for me is to try and understand their character. If they are numbers focused start with the numbers, if they are people focused start with the people. If you don't they will be impatient waiting for the bit of the message that applies to them

One thing I have particularly learnt from my years of dealing with senior managers is "LISTEN". I don't mean listen to them to get brownie points, a real conversation where you pick up important aspects of both their personal and professional life. Listen to how they have managed success or failure. Listen to how they have negotiated budgets and targets. Listen to how they have made or presented dashboards.Listen to their goals, their aspirations. Listen about their family, wife, kids, parents. Their story will give you the keywords to your narrative. Most important in a healthy upward management is - Build Trust,Be Kind and Be grateful always.

As a Recruiter, I learned to build a strategic partnership with executive leaders by showing up to the executive conversation informed, differentiating myself from peers through deep dive needs assessment, and positioning myself as the go to contact among industry talent. Early career I worked with entrepreneurs which was a rewarding and challenging experience. Entrepreneurs are creative, innovative, and passionate about their ideas and goals. They can also be demanding, impatient, and risk averse. To be successful in working with entrepreneurs, I found I needed skills and qualities to communicate effectively, understand their needs and expectations, and support their vision. Think of every executive as an entrepreneur!

Demonstrate Competence: Showcase your skills, knowledge, and ability to deliver results. Effective Communication: Clearly articulate ideas, listen actively, and adapt your communication style to resonate with senior leaders. Build Relationships: Foster positive connections by networking, collaborating, and understanding their perspectives. Reliability and Consistency: Deliver on promises, meet deadlines, and consistently demonstrate dependability. Strategic Thinking: Contribute thoughtful insights, show an understanding of the bigger picture, and align your efforts with organizational goals. Integrity: Uphold ethical standards, be transparent, and admit mistakes when necessary.

It is important to take a half-measure to ensure that you understand the real goals and objectives of the client and of the engagement. This has to be done collaboratively. Nothing squashes credibility faster than a consultant going full-bore on an issue that is little importance to the client or the project; conversely, nothing establishes credibility quicker than a little humility and some honest questions. It's okay to admit you don't have all of the answers immediately, and it's okay to present a well-formulated, yet not complete, analysis as a discussion piece with your client. Be real.

It is important to focus not only on the deliverable but also on the problem it aims to solve. With that in mind, here are the core areas which ensure the building of trust: 1. Keep your word: Nothing erodes trust more than talking big and not coming through or not meaning what you say. 2. Transparency: bring up any potential issues or concerns that may impact the completion of a task. This also includes being honest when something is outside of your realm of expertise. 3. Approachability: people do not like to interact with those who make interactions difficult. People will not trust someone with whom no one wants to interact. 4. Listen: take feedback, listen to others and keep an open mind. 5. Be open to being wrong

Being authentic is important in establishing credibility. Authenticity is about understanding and being purposeful in projecting who you are in terms of expertise, experience, motivation, and value. Senior leaders seek consistency and dependability with the people they work with. Genuinely seeking to understand the stakeholder's needs, goals, and motivation helps to build trust and add depth in the level of engagement

Establishing credibility with senior leaders involves demonstrating your reliability, competence, and integrity. It's about being consistent in your actions and expertise, which reassures leaders of your dependability. For example, you might take the initiative to lead a project in your area of expertise, delivering results that exceed expectations. This showcases not only your skills but also your commitment to the company's goals. Alternatively, you might consistently share well-researched insights during meetings, which could help in making informed decisions. This consistent demonstration of knowledge can make senior leaders see you as a valuable resource and trusted advisor.

Be credible and be an SME. demonstrate this by ensuring you know what you are talking about! Be prepared by understanding facts and be armed with data to compliment your approach!

Establishing a professional rapport also includes aligning your actions with their organizational objectives, demonstrating a strong work ethic, and consistently delivering high-quality results. Maintaining open and transparent communication further strengthens the professional relationship.

This is not easy - this happens over time. Again you need to study what they like and how - language, tone, common small talk on issues not related to work also helps - don't try to like what you don't like just because you think it helps you sell. Ask questions and show curiosity but don't try to grow an interest into unnecessary areas. If the person is busy, don't bother with small talk. But yes, show detailed knowledge of the relevant areas - small talk on work details won't hurt.

In addition to the above, it may be a good idea to perform some homework about senior leader's personalities, likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, etc. That can help you generate meaningful and interactive conversations and ultimately build stronger rapport.

Don't play always the role of "yes man" or "yes woman". Expeess and strongly motivate your opinions even if they are complitely different from the ones of your Boss. They will appreciate your assertiveness, and you too.

Rapport is also about language and effective communication, matching and mirroring and above all listening. Your response to words and interactions becomes a reflection of your understanding of the intent behind the words.

You need to align your thoughts with senior management and have a wider / broader approach while deriving a solution to said problem. Always think of pros and cons to the proposed solution. Your solution must have timelines in order achieve goal with in stipulated time.

In a professional context, it's essential to align your proposed solutions with the broader strategic goals of the organization. Clearly articulate the benefits and potential outcomes of your suggestions, ensuring they are tailored to address the specific needs and concerns of senior leaders. This approach reinforces your dedication to driving positive results for the overall success of the business.

I beg to disagree. Stakeholders are not problem averse. It’s their job to navigate problems and reach the org objectives. I would say that highlighting the problems at the right time with pertinent data / root cause analysis and probable solutions would be great idea to build credibility.

Highlight Problems with proposed solutions to address those problems and projected delta impact on the current state to future state basis the proposed solutions.

In addition to above, it's always the best to come up with multiple solutions with full pros and cons analysis of such solutions and present them to senior leadership. This way you give them opportunity to pick the best solution.

Feedback is essential to exceptional performance. Great leaders always receive feedback with gratitude and then reflect on the feedback, analyse it, and look for the opportunity in the feedback to improve. They do not defend or justify, even though they may not agree with the feedback, because sometimes feedback is highly opinion based and not factual or situation based.

Always come back to a leader to seek feedback. You will always learn something. If its positive feedback you get reassurance that your strategy and actions worked. If its negative feedback, you will learn from the experience and this will also help you understand the leaders’ perspective, their likes and dislikes and in general their point of view on things. This also helps you understand if you are dealing with an actual leader or just a boss. There is a huge difference on the way this two personalities handle things and provide feedback. The leader will always help you grow as a person/team, and learn from your daily activities. The boss will always make you feel less and will blame you for anything that goes wrong.

Another important trait one should consider is honesty. Senor leaders respect honest opinions. Honestly is everlasting personality trait that can leave an outstanding impact.

In my experience, consistent feedback has helped me improve and maintain a performance standard by always analyzing each feedback(positive and negative) to keep up or improve. Having a positive attitude about feedbacks from your senior leaders creates a good working relationship enabling a continued feedback sessions.

Schedule a meeting and Be prepared: Have a clear agenda and relevant materials ready to facilitate the discussion. Ask open-ended questions: Encourage senior leaders to share their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions openly. Actively listen: Pay close attention to their feedback, asking clarifying questions if needed, and demonstrating that you value their input. Be receptive: Accept feedback gracefully, whether it's positive or constructive criticism, and avoid becoming defensive. Take notes: Document the feedback received to ensure you capture all important points accurately. Follow up: Thank senior leaders for their feedback and provide updates on how you plan to incorporate or address their suggestions.

Treating a senior leader as a one time relationship is a big mistake. They can take you places - keeping it touch has big dividends for a career (no doubt your performance comes first) in the long term. Depending on your style (and comfort) and their receptiveness, find ways to keep in touch. Areas of personal common interest post deal and delivery done could be of great use and so are common friend / business relationship so you can 'bump-in' to people.

Getting to know a client beyond a professional capacity can deepen your relationship with them and helps give them a better sense of who you are as a person. Some clients may not have the interest or time in getting to know you outside of the professional relationship, but you will never know unless you try. Being friendly to others and exhibiting a sense of humor are outstanding traits to possess generally, and you may find that some clients will be open to a more casual conversation and respond in-kind.

I think to get senior leaders to listen and trust you, know what they want and talk to them in a way they understand. Explain how your ideas can help with what they care about. Show you're good at what you do by doing your research and coming up with good ideas. Be someone they can rely on by doing what you say you'll do. Ask for their thoughts and listen to what they say. It takes time to earn their trust, so keep showing them you're reliable and keep talking to them.

With all above ideas, I personally follow them on social media platforms like LinkedIn, this will help you understand what they are up to and what types of activities they are in to. They also follow you and your activities. This will help you generate meaningful conversations of common interests whenever you interact with them face to face.

I am studying so still achieve same to same but Internet and YouTube comments with relationship management same our mind to company and support associate the best culture and all Same.

I think to get senior leaders to listen and trust you, know what they want and talk to them in a way they understand. Explain how your ideas can help with what they care about. Show you're good at what you do by doing your research and coming up with good ideas. Be someone they can rely on by doing what you say you'll do. Ask for their thoughts and listen to what they say. It takes time to earn their trust, so keep showing them you're reliable and keep talking to them.

Communication. Without good comms you’re snookered. Find out how the leaders prefer their comms. Do they like a phone call? A face to face? A Teams meeting? What colour do they like their PowerPoint packs? Are they numbers or charts people? Put in the ground work and tailor your approach. Don’t just feed them good news either, be honest and then you’ll grow and maintain trust. Communication is key!

When leading a cross-functional technology investment portfolio, senior leader support was required for quarterly capital issuance. The portfolio was complex and clear messaging was critical for ensuring understanding, maintaining engagement, and stream-lining decision making. I found it helpful to document my investment strategy, focus areas, value, and alignment to business objectives; important to my audience. This leader approved one-pager consistently supported all investment discussions, centering conversation around three strategic focus areas. Approving capital allocations at a supported focus area level enabled confident and efficient leader decision-making, helping me quickly gain leader credibility, rapport, and capital approval.

I asked this question of an advisor some years ago and his response was : “ You build trust one conversation at a time “ . To me this meant, establish your credibility, build relationships and be consistent in your actions .

Best way to gain trust of seniors is take ownership of task he want assing to team , give your 100% in tasks which you have taken ownership don't matter task is completed 90% or 110% but your effort should be 100%. Work should be done with best effort . Also you must start sharing your personal and professional thing with seniors . This will help your to gain trust in front of seniors.