In September 2020, Forbes Coaches Council asked 14 of its members how leaders build more meaningful professional relationships. I was one of them. Reading the list again in 2026, I notice that almost every point is about character.
Business has its own rules for closeness. Trust matters as much as it does in private life, yet the road to it runs differently. The 14 points below show which adjustments the move from private to professional requires.
Most executives who come to my practice have a strong network on paper and a thin one in reality. Contacts were made when they were needed and then left alone. Everything that follows works only if you invest before you want something.
Meaningful relationships open doors to further ones, so focus on people whose values match yours. Switzerland is a small economy, which makes this doubly true: The CFO you negotiate fairly with today may sit on the board that decides your next role in 5 years.
Source: Hannah Koenig, HANNAH KOENIG INTERNATIONAL LLC
Strong relationships lift people and results. To build them, get to know people beyond their job title, and let them know you. When you invite people to bring their whole selves to work, you learn and grow alongside them.
Source: Lisa Gick, [curious] leadership + change agency
Many leaders are so busy preparing their next brilliant point that they forget to listen. Listen at least as much as you speak, and make it visible through body language and follow-up questions.
Source: Daniel Elder, TBS CenTex Coaching
Time is scarce in business. A first meeting without connection rarely gets a second. Do your homework: Learn what the other person stands for and how they decide. In Zurich, 20 minutes of preparation often separate a coffee from a mandate.
Source: Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership
Trust builds faster when you put the other person's interests ahead of your own. It sounds like sacrifice and works like insurance: A relationship built on self-interest lasts exactly until the first clash of interests.
Source: Edyta Pacuk, MarchFifteen Consulting Inc.
Humility starts with honesty towards yourself. It then shows in how you listen, with the intent to understand the other view before you answer it. That is hard work, and the other person can see it. Trust grows from there.
Source: Jorge Gutierrez, BMOC Group
Clients and employees want to know who you are as a leader before they hear what you have achieved. Once the relationship with the "who" exists, the "what" follows on its own.
Source: Reena Sharma, Agilis Executive Consulting
Meaningful relationships rest on trust, and trust grows over time through truth and delivered value. People buy, hire and refer in proportion to the trust you have built with them. The daily deposit pays off.
Source: Darcy Eikenberg, PCC, Red Cape Revolution
At work, people are more guarded than at home. Good relationships can hold vulnerability, so leaders show their own weaknesses first and the team follows. A CEO who says "I misjudged that" in a meeting gets more honest numbers the following week.
Source: Shane Green, SGEi
Every industry has its customs. Some run on referrals from face-to-face encounters, others keep in touch through social media. Find the platform that matters in yours. And watch your words: Work friends are a different species from your university flatmates.
Source: Julie Kantor, PhD, JP Kantor Consulting
Consistency is the most overlooked part of building relationships. If a business relationship means something to you, it shows in how regularly you get in touch, with or without a reason. That reliability tells the other person what they are worth to you.
Source: Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience
The line between work and home has become porous. Know your team in both arenas without crossing that line: What drives this person, and does it fit the company's purpose? Bottom line: Get to know your team.
Source: Shelley Smith, Premier Rapport
My contribution to the panel: Walk through the corridors of your company with a smile for one day. Many people will greet you more warmly or smile back. The reciprocity principle is at work: Someone who is smiled at returns it so as not to seem rude. I still recommend the experiment, especially to executives who are said to be hard to read.
Source: Cristian Hofmann, Empowering Executives | SUPERGROUP LTD
Business relationships are often franker than private ones. Prepare for this by reading harsh words as a sign of good intent. Taken as a personal attack, they end a conversation. Taken as feedback, they move you forward.
Source: Tonya Echols, Vigere
In Switzerland, career management is still widely confused with a polished CV and the next certificate. In my practice, the next step is decided largely by professional relationships that were cared for long before the vacancy appeared. The executives who come to me in 2026 because their role has been cut almost all share one pattern: A full LinkedIn profile and years without a conversation that had no agenda.
So I recommend one simple routine for professional relationships: Two contacts a week to whom you give something without wanting anything back. After a year, that is around 100 relationships that hold when it matters.
Further reading on hofmann.coach: Leadership Coaching · 14 lessons for new leaders · Executive Coaching Zurich
Note: This page goes back to the Forbes Coaches Council expert panel "14 Ways To Build More Meaningful Professional Relationships", published 16 September 2020. The commentary is mine.
Cristian Hofmann is an executive coach in Zurich and Schaffhausen (MAS Coaching & Supervision BSO, Forbes contributor). Over more than 20 years he has coached more than 1,500 leaders: CEOs, executive boards and leadership teams in Switzerland, with measurably agreed goals and, on request, pay-for-results. More about Cristian Hofmann.
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