Building Authentic Business Relationships

In one organization, I had seven team leaders reporting to me. Each of us had from five to 10 peers and customers in the enterprise who we reached out to in the liaison program. This liaison feedback was discussed in our weekly management meetings. We established and nurtured a strong network of business relationships, which served as our organization’s nervous system. We purposely met with people critical of our organization to better understand their concerns. We wanted them inside the tent solving issues with us, not outside throwing rocks. We gathered good and bad feedback, garnered input on team leader performance, and defused rumors that we could address. We also built up goodwill by getting out of our offices and letting people know that we gave a damn.

Just as I did for my one-on-one meetings with my manager, I would solicit topics for my liaison meetings with high-level executives. Often I would invite my team leads to my liaison meetings to give them greater executive-level visibility and to help them hear firsthand about those executive leaders’ needs, concerns, and priorities. This inclusive approach helped to improve communication countless times and fostered executive-level trust and confidence in my management team’s ability to deliver outstanding service.

Rumors can also be quickly addressed. One of my team leaders was falsely accused of not supporting a new program, and misinformation was quickly spreading about her views. I reached out to my peer liaison executive responsible for this program and said, “Sara has been working tirelessly to make sure your program is successful for both of our organizations. She and I are disappointed about the rumors.” My peer executive agreed and put a stop to the rumors.

You and your team leaders must establish and nurture authentic business relationships with peers and customers throughout the enterprise. The liaison program establishes a nervous system for your organization and builds trust and goodwill.