What is A Trusted Advisor?

As I browse LinkedIn profiles everyday I often see the descriptor, "Trusted Advisor."

What does that really mean?

Early in my career, I thought trust was earned through credibility and reliability. If I provided good follow-up, actively listened, and delivered the product/service on-time then I qualify to be a trusted advisor.

Not even close!

Winning trust it seems requires more than just being credible and reliable - it involves removing pride (self-orientation), and proactive empathy(intimacy).

In my agency work with dozens of clients over the past 25 years, I've learned trust has multiple dimensions. Clients might trust my expertise, but profoundly distrust my motives (self-orientation). Clients might trust my intelligence, but dislike my style of dealing with them (intimacy).

In this post, I will briefly discuss the first component of a Trusted Advisor, (credibility) and follow-up with (3) three separate posts on reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation.

Credibility is the one aspect of trust that is most commonly achieved. Given the focus that most of us place on our technical expertise, and its relative tangibility, this is the factor most likely to be done well by professionals.

However, credibility isn't just technical or content expertise. It is technical expertise plus "presence" which refers to how we look, act, react, talk about our content, services, products, and brand. This emotional side of credibility (honesty) takes longer to evaluate, because it takes longer to assure oneself that all dimensions of an issue are being covered.

Of course, it is important to get the content right, to convey how smart we are, and how well we thought through the guidance the client is asking from us. We tend to spend lots of time on our logic, our facts, and our list of credentials: all direct appeals to rationality.

What we tend NOT to do is enhance the emotional side of credibility: to convey a sense of honesty, to allay any unconscious suspicions of incompleteness. It seems to me that the best service professionals excel at two things in conveying credibility: anticipating needs, and speaking about needs not commonly articulated.

For example, one might use client phrases that start with, "You know, I suppose if I were in your position, I might be wondering about X. Is it possible that that is an issue for you? The delicate offering of an insight or piece content(without assertiveness) allows the client to form a conclusion about our mastery of content and our ablity to contribute new perspectives.

My five top tips for enhancing client credibility:

• Dont tell lies, or even exaggerate. At all. EVER.
• When you dont know, say so, quickly and directly.
• Relax. You know much more than you think you know. If you dont belong there, then don't put yourself there in the first place.
• Speak with expression, not monotonically. Use body language, eye contact, and vocal range. Show the client you have energy around the subject at hand.
• Love your topic. It will show.