InspireYourBest

In This Issue:

A Note from Our Founder

Hello!

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the InspireYourBest!, the eNewsletter for Lawyers and Leaders with an Entrepreneurial Spirit.

I am so excited to bring this publication to you.

Twice a month, InspireYourBest! will bring you a combination of articles, tips and interviews with inspiring thought leaders, all designed to inspire your best!

We want to hear from you! Please email us at inspire@inspireyourbest.com if you have any questions, suggestions for topics or would like to be a featured thought leader in an upcoming issue of InspireYourBest! ™.

Thanks for your support!

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T.C. Coleman, JD
Success Coach for Entrepreneurial Lawyers and Leaders
UpwardAction® Founder

P.S. *Want to book me to speak at your next teleseminar or live event?* *Contact my assistant here*

P.S.S. To be sure this eNewsletter arrives in your inbox, add inspire@InspireYourBest.com and inspireyourbest@upwardaction.com to your address book or approved list of senders.

Feature Article - Building Trust

Trust is a critical component of business and personal relationships. The absence of trust creates an environment in which people waste countless hours second-guessing the agendas of their clients, business partners and colleagues. The presence of trust allows people to have confidence that the information is genuine and thus focus generating ideas and activities.

Here are a few UpwardAction® Quick Start Steps to help you build trust with others:

Actively Listen. Listening is a skill that requires you to devote your full attention to what is and is not being said by the person speaking. This requires that you notice things like tone of voice and body language. When you are actively listening, you open the possiblity of gaining a genuine understanding of the speaker’s view point. Check out the InspireYourBest blog for more information on the difference between “Hearing” and “Active Listening”.

Exhibit Personal Integrity. When building trust it is important to honor your commitments. Simply put, say what you mean and do what you say you will do. Some of us, even with the best intentions, find ourselves falling short of our promises. Starting today, only commit to what you know you can do, not what you wish you could do.

Eliminate Absolute Statements. Very few things are absolute. Even when you have vast experience in a particular industry, realize that you can be surprised by a “remote” occurrence. Therefore, work to eliminate absolute statements from your business vernacular. This basic step will do wonders for the confidence of those who work for and with you.

When Talking About Issues, Think “Our" (not “My” or "Your”). Replacing the word “My” with “Our” reduces the likihood that your team members or employees will become (i) disengaged with a particular situation because they view it as “your” problem or (ii) defensive because they feel "blamed." Frequent use of the word "our" also encourages commitments to "team" solutions.

Be respectful. Building trust requires you to exhibit a basic respect for human beings. This can be a simple as saying “Good morning” or “Hello”. Being polite and acknowledging others goes a long way in building strong business relationships.

This Week’s UpwardAction® Challenge:
Use the words “always” and “never” judiciously. Replace these absolute words with more accurate statements whenever possible.

InspireYourBest blog
Visit our InspireYourBest blog www.upwardaction.com/wordpress to continue this discussion about building trust.

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About T.C. Coleman

TC Coleman T.C. Coleman (Coach T.C.), Success Coach for Entrepreneurial Lawyers and Leaders, is a professional coach and attorney. She is also the founder and president of UpwardAction®, where she helps lawyers and leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit (i) build successful, sustainable service businesses; (ii) develop their corporate and personal brands and (iii) use social networking to explore and develop business opportunities. To learn more about Coach T.C., read her bio [here]

The InspireYourBest E-Newsletter is written and distributed by Upward Action LLC, a coaching and consulting boutique for entrepreneurial lawyers and leaders.