It doesn't matter if you're leading a cavalry charge, teaching a class, or making a sales call, one thing is abundantly clear; you had better be good at mastering relationships! Think back to a boss you would have gone through a wall for. Chances are you had a very good relationship with that individual. What about that boss you would have rather a wall to fall on?... the likelihood is that one, or both of you were not good at building relationships.
 
 
Whether beginning or nurturing a relationship, the first crucial step is to establish trust. Not to sound trite, but in order to have trust you must first be trustworthy.
 
Here are four of approximately four million things you can do to be trustworthy, and take that first critical step to building strong relationships:

1) Be Courageous - Most of us who have been blessed with a decent upbringing know right from wrong. Do what's right, not what appears to be right. If it has the faintest odor of 'not right', walk away. Being courageous means doing what's right even if it seems difficult.

2) Be Reliable - make very few promises but keep them all and follow through on your commitments.

3) Be Honest - Don't tell people what they want to hear, tell them what you believe will happen. You know, we call it the truth.

3) Be a Good Friend - Laugh often. Laugh together. Laugh at misfortune. Laugh at good fortune. Laugh at yourself. Don't laugh at others and don't betray trust!

Many of our clients use the 'Social Styles' model to help build effective relationships with their co-workers and clients.  You can benefit by building co-hesiveness, using it as a recruitment tool, and develop a common comunication language for your organization.