Seeking diverse views, listening deeply, and building trust

Assessed under 5CO03 AC 2.3, this video addresses three interconnected practices central to inclusive working: actively seeking diverse views, listening deeply, and building trust with colleagues. The discussion is grounded in the distinction between passively receiving perspectives and deliberately creating conditions in which unheard voices can emerge — particularly where hierarchy, organisational culture, or confidence levels tend to silence certain contributors. The video prompts honest reflection on habitual patterns, such as repeatedly consulting the same trusted colleagues rather than pursuing genuinely fresh perspectives, and on whether psychological safety is present enough for people to voice disagreement with a prevailing direction.

A substantial portion of the video is devoted to active listening as a developable skill rather than a fixed trait. It examines specific components including presence, non-verbal engagement, the use of clarifying questions, paraphrasing, and emotional attunement, with attention to the internal challenge of managing one's own thinking while another person is speaking. The video also encourages practitioners to use feedback received from colleagues over time as a diagnostic indicator of how effectively they currently listen, and to consider whether their listening behaviours are likely to increase or diminish the willingness of others to share diverse views in future.

On the subject of trust, the video draws on David Maister's trust equation, which frames trust in terms of credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation, and examines the specific behaviours through which trust is built or eroded across repeated interactions. These include following through on commitments, demonstrating competence, communicating transparently in difficult circumstances, maintaining confidentiality, and showing appropriate vulnerability. Taken together, the three areas — diverse views, deep listening, and trust — form the reflective focus through which the video addresses AC 2.3's requirement to examine one's own approach to inclusive working and positive professional relationships.