Everyone wants successful relationships where they can trust, have faith and rely on others! What makes for great relationships in both business and in our personal lives? How we present ourselves, what we stand for and how we expect others to present themselves is what makes relationships successful or not successful.
The first step is starting with respect. If we don’t respect those we have relationships with, in both our personal and professional lives, it’s going to be hard for us to feel safe and trust others. Without respect – there’s not going to be a real relationship! Trust is an important factor in everything we do and we seek people we can trust! So starting with respect – it is the first building block and foundation for trust.
Respect has to be earned. Our actions will either build up or tear down trust – and once it’s damaged – it’s hard to build back. To build respect we must act with real authenticity and integrity. And we must respect ourselves.
Authenticity is where we learn to be real. Too often I see people who are fake and phony. We all have known people who are “counterfeit” – and we walk away, never feeling comfortable in trusting them. When someone is authentic it’s easy to believe they are what and who they say they are.
Part of being authentic is when someone is congruent with both their actions and words. They do what they say they’re going to do! You can rely and count on them! When a person is congruent it becomes easy to trust what they say and not have to worry about being taken advantage of.
Integrity is what it’s all about. When you tell the truth, no matter how rough and tough it is, you are being authentic and will be seen as having integrity. Integrity to me is all about honesty and fairness. This means that we are fair to both others and ourselves in the dealings we have every day.
There will always be conflicts of interest in our lives. Integrity is what allows us to ask ourselves what the conflicts are and what is the best way to manage them. Leaders know that when you manage conflicts well – you will be trusted and respected by those around you – no matter how tough the situation and outcome.
I’ll be honest… those who show all these traits are the people I want to be around, have as friends, do business with and have in my life. These are people that always think about being honest, fair, are authentic, have integrity and are trustworthy. They are the people I admire the most, want to learn from and have strong relationships with. They are invaluable!
For more information on this subject or others, please callbetti@betticoffeypresents.com me at (214)763-6344 or email me at betti@betticoffeypresents.com