Note to readers: Given my commitment to be thoughtful and relevant with the current series of posts, my weekly Tuesday cadence has been disrupted. I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Two tips ago was the first in this series that I’m writing specifically for corporate White people like me—a focus that reflects both my personal passion and my professional mission, as I’m seeing compelling connections between racial justice and the vast majority of nearly everything I’ve written on trusted advisorship. For one thing, if we want to have extraordinary work relationships, they must be conscious relationships. And for White professionals, I believe that means working on our own racial literacy.

Masterful listening is one of the fastest ways to build intimacy in any relationship. It’s also an essential (albeit unexpected) driver of influence. To help the cause, there’s another new eBook on the street—a hand-picked collection of simple and underused listening best practices.

A competency model won’t answer the mail when it comes to building trustworthiness—in fact, there’s risk in attempting to reduce trust to a series of behavioral definitions. At the same time, there is value in culling down the essential skills of a trusted advisor to a practical number. Charlie Green and I specifically identified five in The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook. Heads up:  each skill is at risk of being easily dismissed as too basic to merit your attention. Don’t be fooled.

Listen, listen, listen. I harp on it all the time in our programs and in these weekly tips. It’s a critical skill for anyone endeavoring to be a trusted advisor. And I don’t care how adept you think you are as a listener, there’s always room for improvement.