Build Trust by First Focusing on Intention

GUEST POST BY WILL WISE AND CHAD LITTLEFIELD

Note from Bob: Recently I came across a new book called Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter by Will Wise. There are over 80 “Leading With Questions” type books on my shelf, yet none of them are like Will’s book. Will’s book focuses not just on what questions to ask, but on how you build genuine relationships of trust by asking powerful questions. It’s no wonder it recently became a #1 Bestseller on Amazon! This week, with Will’s help we are doing something that we have never done before on this blog. There will be guest posts by Will every day this week sharing highlights from 5 chapters of the book and the Asking Powerful Questions Pyramid™. In today’s Post – Will shares about how to build trust and clear communication through the power of intention. I am guessing that by the end of the week – probably even before you finish watching Will’s short video clip (about 2 minutes) and reading the excerpt below – you will be clicking on the link below to purchase Will’s terrific new book!

Video length: 231 seconds

What happens when we become more clear with our intentions? One possibility is that there is no longer room for manipulating yet lots of room for people to make a contribution that will make a difference.

The first Chapter of Will Wise’s book, Ask Powerful Questions, discusses the power of clear intention, and why it is so important to:

Be clear about your intention and share it.

Asking Powerful Questions Pyramid™ by We!

When we are open about our intentions with others, we allow them to choose whether they want to share the intention with us as if we are agreeing all to play the same game. They can share in that possibility, walk away, or together we can co-create a game we all want to play. Being upfront about these intentions helps create a culture of trust, understanding, and overall authenticity. With a certain degree of transparency, people are able to work towards their goals because they want to, rather than need to.

Starting with a clear intention that includes the needs of all those involved allows people to have clear choice in the matter, to create something that was not going to happen.

With intention, Will invites us to ponder the following:

1. What happens when you show up to your next meeting and clearly state what your intention is? (For example, a future-focused intention might sound like, “I trust that by the end of our meeting, everybody knows how they can contribute to the team and the project before we meet again next month.”
2. What happens if you show up in an interaction in which suddenly the intent becomes very clear?

Feel free to check out this tool and group exercises to help a group set a clear intention.

For more about the power of intent, watch Will Wise’s “behind the scenes” video on Chapter 1 of Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter.

You can purchase your copy of the book, Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter by clicking the book below or this link here.

Chad Littlefield, M.Ed. is a speaker and professional facilitator. Leaders and conference organizers call Chad when they want to make their events more interactive and engaging. He has spoken at TEDx and is the creator of We! Connect Cards™, which are now being used to create conversations that matter on campuses and companies in over 50 countries around the world. Feel free to connect with Chad through his interactive learning letter right here.

WiLL WiSE, M.Ed., has over two decades of experience custom building leadership programs for corporate and nonprofit groups. Leaders call Will when there is a lack of trust getting in the way of results. Tens of thousands of people have been empowered with positive communication skills after spending some time with WiLL and We!™ Most recently, WiLL has been passionate about sharing his #1 Amazon Bestselling Book, Asking Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter.