Building Trusted Relationships in Business: Lessons Learned from a Mentor

Last month, I had the privilege of reconnecting with a mentor who has had a profound impact on my career and professional development.?As I stepped into the SAP Copenhagen offices after more than 4 years, I was excited to meet my friend and mentor Helle Dochedahl .?I was fortunate enough to spend some time with her and reflect on how our personal and professional lives have developed over the last few years.

I first met Helle Dochedahl eight years ago, when I joined SAP in South Africa as a newbie. She instilled in me the importance of being passionate about what I do and having a clear purpose in the work I do at SAP. ?This clear message that she shared with us in the region, helped to inspire us to deliver value to our customers and importantly, to ensure they have a great experience when engaging with us.

These lessons have stayed with me throughout my SAP career, and I have made it a point to pass them on to my teams as well. Last month, Helle reinforced this message to the Nordics Customer Advisory teams and summed it up perfectly:

"Tomorrow, your customer may not remember what you said, but they will definitely remember how you made them feel."

This got me thinking about how TRUST is built, both inside and outside an organization. Trust is equal parts COMPETENCE and LIKEABILITY. While most people understand what competence means (knowledge, results, accountability) and how to build it, the challenge is in understanding what likeability (respect, loyal, warmth, ally) means and why it is so critical in building trusted relationships in business.

I've seen too many people focusing only on their technical knowledge and disregarding how they make others feel; and still wonder why they are not well trusted by their teams.

I was thrilled to see the team in the Nordics putting a strong focus on building their professional skills, developing their ability to craft and deliver memorable customer stories, and finding innovative ways to help their customers understand and adopt the capabilities they are proposing. Again, equal parts competence and likeability.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing more about Professional Skills and what it means to Solution Advisors (PreSales).

Thank you Helle Dochedahl for your wisdom and leadership. Your impact has not only been felt by your team but by all teams at SAP.