Reflections from a “Path to Becoming a Trusted Advisor” Program Oracle

Recently, something interesting happened after Nagabhushana Urala K and I, conducted a 3-week program for Oracle Consulting titled “Path to Becoming a Trusted Advisor.” Mukund Moorthy’s comment on another post sparked the idea for this one.

Our program was designed to help participants understand self & others, master the art of building relationships, demonstrate their capabilities effectively beyond the core capabilities, use high-impact questions to establish a strong intellectual and emotional connection with their customers,  frameworks that help professionals truly know their customers and, ultimately, build trust—a cornerstone in any successful hashtag#advisory role.

However, what came out as key outcomes from the program were reflections that went beyond our initial expectations. These reflections provided a glimpse into the diverse ways participants” internalized and applied the concepts”. Here are some of the more surprising and insightful takeaways:

1) Internal Trust across Lines of Business: One participant reflected that there needs to be first a trust inside their own organization before establishing one with a client.

2) Challenging Beliefs : Another participant shared their experience of challenging a long-held belief by making a cold call to a C-level executive, something they had been hesitant to do.

3) Trusting Oneself: A particularly introspective reflection came from a participant questioning whether they truly trust themselves in life.

4) Currencies clients want- One participant had a light bulb moment as to why a customer whom they had helped in a crisis & they thought trusted them did not sign up the next deal with them.

5) Trust above Metrics: One participant applied the concept of trust, using it as a crucial factor in their stock investment decisions, even placing it above traditional performance metrics.

6) Limiting Beliefs: Going beyond the belief & share more ideas whatever may be the level of the person you are talking to.

7) Creating a High Recall Value: Finally, a participant recognized the need to do something different and drastic to stand out and be memorable to their customers.

The critical point here is that the impact of a program like this one, is deeply contextual and varies from person to person. Each participant walks away with what resonates most with their unique situation and challenges.