The Great Client Partner: How Soft Skills Are the True Currency in Client Relationships

Use the Urgent/Important grid at the start of every quarter. Have those who report to you do the same to ensure your visions are aligned.

Embark on every review with empathy and identify your team members’ signature strengths, their superpowers.

If enthusiasm doesn’t come naturally, figure out how to schedule it into your day. This does not make you disingenuous. It makes you good at your job.

The important point here, though, is that this X + 1 is the mentality to be in, and not just one that is about the presentation of data or results. A client might ask you for insights on a particular target segment, but perhaps you anticipate that it’s important to compare that segment against another option, so they can see alternatives or compara

Make a list of your most common behaviors as a leader—just the first habits that pop into your head. Do these exemplify servant leadership? Why or why not?

As a manager, create an environment where it’s acceptable (and applauded) for your direct reports to bang the desk without fear.

Ask better questions when interviewing. Use the above list or something that creates a bit of real-life pressure. And know ahead of time what you want to hear from every question you ask.

Start to think about trust as a bank account; if you plan to make withdrawals, you have to make deposits. And if you are in the agency business, it can’t be expected to be even. Understand that you should make more deposits than withdrawals.

We have to realize that being a true partner means reducing self-orientation and increasing self-awareness. Self-orientation is simply the notion of being inwardly focused at the expense of your clients and team members. You’re self-oriented when you are thinking only about your profit and your deadlines and not thinking about all other parties.