{"id":36309,"date":"2022-11-22T19:49:59","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T00:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/?p=36309"},"modified":"2022-11-27T22:45:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T03:45:59","slug":"building-trust-through-authenticity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.greenmoney.com\/2025\/building-trust-through-authenticity\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Trust Through Authenticity"},"content":{"rendered":"
>> Back to December 2022 Issue<\/a><\/div>\n
Above \u2013 Cameron with her kids for Working Mother magazine. Courtesy of Cameron Barsness<\/h5>\n

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Our care, sincerity, reliability, and competence show clients who we are\u2014and achieve results.<\/h3>\n

\"CameronCompared to just two years ago, clients are far more aware of ESG as an investment approach. This includes awareness that ESG is, to some, a controversial topic. For example, many clients are aware of the term \u201cgreenwashing\u201d \u2014 and are asking questions about how to avoid it.<\/p>\n

Part of our role as advisors is to dig into investment opportunities to ensure we understand the mandates and how they match up with clients\u2019 goals for a more sustainable future. Then, we have conversations with clients about how they can be part of a forward-looking push toward a better planet and society in five, 10 and 20 years.<\/p>\n

None of this works without trust. Trust enables mutual understanding\u2014between clients and advisors and within couples and families. As I think back on my 17-year career and look forward to 2023 and beyond, I see more than ever that trust<\/em> is the touchstone.<\/p>\n

Trust & Vulnerability<\/h2>\n

A book that\u2019s made a profound impact on me as an advisor is Charles Feltman\u2019s The Thin Book of Trust<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> \u201cTrust is choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person\u2019s actions,<\/em>\u201d Feltman writes.<\/p>\n

What could be a better definition of the trust we require as advisors? Feltman goes on to say that trust is built \u2014 or eroded \u2014 in four different categories: care, sincerity, reliability, and competence. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I am struck by how important these four categories are to our work as advisors, leaders and investors. At a time when trust in government, news media, science, elections, police and companies is eroded, people are yearning to experience trust.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned to think in terms of Feltman\u2019s four categories as I seek to be my authentic self. That\u2019s how I can best serve clients.<\/p>\n

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Care<\/h2>\n

Feltman defines care as \u201cthe assessment that you have the other person\u2019s interests in mind as well as your own when you make decisions and take actions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One might argue that in our business care is a fiduciary standard. But we have to communicate care on an emotional level.<\/p>\n

First of all, we do so by listening. The worst thing we can do as advisors is assume we know what a client is asking by answering the question we hoped<\/em> they asked, rather than simply answering the question they really asked.<\/p>\n

Second, we share ourselves. Early in my career, I watched as clients shared many intimate details about their families, their struggles, and their dreams. This sharing wasn\u2019t reciprocated by advisors, which I interpreted to mean sharing would somehow make me NOT trustworthy.<\/p>\n

But what I\u2019ve learned through my career is sharing about my challenges in raising children, marriage and family forms a deeper connection.<\/p>\n

For example, I can never hide the fact that I am first and foremost a mother and that experience has shaped me in profound ways. I cannot decouple my business self from my mom self (or my daughter self). These aspects will forever be intertwined and will deeply shape my view of the world.<\/p>\n

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