Aligned

Chapter 4

Trust

Take their point of view and solve their problems, just like you do with customers

Building rapport with stakeholders takes effort, but building a good working relationship is not the only thing you need to be successful. You also need to prove to your stakeholders that you are credible, by demonstrating expertise and confidence, so they will trust your decisions instead of second-guessing you. And you need to show them that you are reliable, by demonstrating ownership and dependability, so they will trust your process instead of micromanaging you (Figure 4-1).

Figure 4-1. The elements of trust

In this chapter, Irie will continue building trust with her stakeholders, and you will learn some key skills:

• Demonstrate expertise without sounding like a know-it-all.
• Show confidence, be prepared when you speak with your stakeholders, and provide transparency into your processes.
• Take ownership of your product, identify risks early and propose mitigations, and own both your successes and your failures.
• Become a dependable resource, be responsive and deliver on your promises, and set the right expectations up front.

We start this chapter as Irie has just received an opening from Sparks that he might accept her help with his board presentation.