Healthy relationships are grounded in trust and respect. The ability to connect with your colleagues in moments that are not grounded in a transaction or immediate financial benefit builds trust and respect to share, understand, and grow together. If you engage with customers and clients from a place of building a relationship based on trust and respect, your connection becomes one of value and provides opportunities to create mutually beneficial opportunities. By becoming a professional that sees and listens to your customers or clients, you become a problem solver to provide additional solutions, services, and products.Opening the door starts with small acts of kindness about the person’s life and expands as you become more comfortable to ask “what is going on”, “what are you struggling with”, or  “are you working on next”. The ability for the person to respond from a place of honesty requires trust