Belief and mistrust

John was a client with a mistrust of consultants.  He raised his eyebrows when we made recommendations and we found it difficult to get his agreement to activity that he felt was suggested for ulterior motives.  We didn’t work with John for long. 

Jill, by contrast, was a client whose nature was to believe in others, and to encourage them to achieve great things.  She entered into challenging discussions about the best solution for a particular problem, seeking to understand and to get to the best decision together.  She assumed we were acting in the best interests of her business.  We worked with Jill for a long time and delivered some brilliant results for the organisation. 

Reflecting on these two styles now it is clear that Jill was encouraging in us a sense of efficacy, of responsibility, so that we could achieve the best outcomes possible.  Her belief inspired loyalty as well as encouraging huge effort.