Thinking about your relationship with client stakeholders, you may want to consider their past professional experiences. Workplace trauma is all-too-common. It may be happening to your client now, or it may be a past experience that colors their perception of your relationship.
For example:
- Workplace bullying
- A blame-and-shame culture
- A layoff or termination
- Lack of transparency
- Lack of accountability
- Past project failures
- A burnout-as-norm mentality
- Cutthroat internal competition
- Discrimination
When your client has experienced these kinds of trauma, it can affect what it’s possible for you to achieve together. It can change or even block your path to trust. Finally, it can shift how and when you frame recommendations and solutions.