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Building Authentic Business Relationships
 1024 536 Brad Englert Advisory

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.

Seek to Understand Your Boss’s Goals, Priorities, and Pressures
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It is a simple step, but many of us do not take the time to ask. If you don’t know or understand your manager’s goals, you may focus on the wrong tasks and waste valuable time. Simply ask: “What are your goals, priorities, and pressures?”

 

One supervisor I worked with was not forthcoming. He prided himself on being a chess master, “thinking many steps ahead.” He thought that keeping his moves to himself was a strength. This technique was actually a dirty trick used to disorient and destabilize others while he consolidated power. In The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene cites “law three: Conceal your intentions: Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions it will be too late.” If I and the boss’s other direct reports knew where he was heading, we would have been better positioned to help him achieve his goals. He declined, which was frustrating for me and all of his direct reports. Don’t be a boss who keeps your moves to yourself.

 

One of my best managers at the firm would challenge me with field promotions. I wanted to be a leader, and she wanted to train future leaders, so our goals aligned perfectly. She would give me opportunities for stretch roles where I could act like a manager before I was a manager. Later in my career, she asked me to serve in executive roles while I was still a senior manager. The brilliance of this approach is that I could try new roles knowing that when I encountered challenges, there was no harm, no foul. Stretch roles were treated as lower-risk learning experiences. The added benefit of this approach was to build confidence in myself and my supervisor that I would be successful at the next level. You don’t want to be promoted too early only to fail.

The External Sphere of Influence: Customers, Peers and Influencers, and Strategic Vendor Partners
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The external sphere of influence includes business relationships where you have less direct impact: customers, peers and influencers, and strategic vendor partners.

 

Create and nurture working relationships with customers by seeking to understand their goals and aspirations, delivering value, and genuinely caring about their success. This will build trust and brand loyalty.

 

Whether you are working in your own enterprise or providing services to an external customer, you need to know who your peers and influencers are. Peers are at the same level that you are in an organization. Influencers can be at any level in an organization. Once you identify who they are, you need to understand how you can help each other.

 

“Vendor” implies a short transactional relationship, like you have with a vending machine. I became a strategic vendor by understanding the goals and aspirations of my customers by building the relationship beyond a transaction. When I was on the customer side of the desk, my goal was to build mutually beneficial relationships with vendors we deemed strategic.

The Internal Sphere of Influence: Boss, Executive Leaders, Direct Reports, and All Your Staff
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The internal sphere of influence focuses on those people you can have the most direct impact with: your boss, executive leaders, direct reports, and all your staff.

 

It is your responsibility to understand the goals and aspirations of your boss. First, you need to clarify when you don’t fully understand a directive. Then you need to determine your boss’s goals and how you align with them. Finally, figure out what you have to offer—and offer it.

 

The best way to align yourself with executive leadership is to understand the organization’s strategy and culture. Understanding your organization’s strategy and culture helps you better fit into the organization and work with leadership.

 

When you are the boss, you need to be a mentor, coach, visionary, cheerleader, confidant, guide, sage, trusted partner, and perspective keeper. It also helps to have a sense of humor.

 

When you lead an organization, it is crucial to articulate the organization’s values, set expectations, and establish mutual accountability. Then you can focus on creating a safe work ecosystem. You need to let your team leaders know you care about their success and growth and the success of their teams.

 

Seek to create a safe work ecosystem, especially if you inherit a wounded workgroup. Build a work environment where honesty and trust thrives. Let all your staff know you care about their success and the well-being of the organization.

 

You’ll begin to change the culture by establishing the values of the organization. This is a crucial step to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals.

Authentic Business Relationships: 5 Tips for Working With Your Boss
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Building an authentic business relationship with your boss is a critical hard skill. Where do you start? Here are five tips:

 

  1. Understand The Goals and Aspirations of Your Boss

The best way to align yourself with your boss is to understand their goals and aspirations. It’s simple, just ask. Then step back and reflect on how you can best support the achievement of those goals and offer to help. 

 

  1. Deliver More Value Than Your Salary

Strive to add more value to the organization in excess of your salary. Increasing sales, reducing cost, and creating new approaches are time-honored techniques. You want to demonstrate that you are a positive asset. 

 

  1. Trust and Honesty

Begin from a position of trust and honesty until proven wrong. Unfortunately, at times you will be proven wrong. 

 

  1. Bring options to resolve problems

Do not raise problems without proposing options for solutions. If you have an issue with one of your peers, sincerely try to work it out with them before escalating to your supervisor. 

 

  1. Give a Damn 

The most important tip is to genuinely care about the success of your boss. Step back and think about how you can help them be more successful.  

The bottom line? Add more value than your salary.

Authentic Business Relationships: 5 Tips For Working With Executive Leaders
 1024 683 Brad Englert Advisory

Building authentic business relationships with executive leaders is a critical skill. Where do you start? Here are five tips:

 

  1. Understand Your Organization

The best way to align yourself with executive leadership is to understand the organization’s strategy. In the private sector, strategies are often presented in a company’s annual report, quarterly earnings statements, and company websites. In the public sector, reviewing legislation related to an agency is the best place to start to understand the organization’s purpose. Agency websites often convey mission and strategy.  

 

  1. Align with Those Goals

Step back and reflect on how you can best support the achievement of the organization’s goals. Ask yourself what ideas, skills, knowledge, and abilities can you bring to the table? It is shocking how many organizations do not have a strategy. If your organization does not have a strategy, offer to help create one.

 

  1. Set and Manage Expectations

Set expectations from the outset. Seek to understand what is being asked by executive leaders. Ask lots of questions to determine the scope, timing, and resources. At times, you may not be able to align or have the skills or knowledge. Be honest if you cannot help.

 

  1. Bring options to resolve problems

Find solutions to problems and ask for support when you need it. Be open and honest. If you need others to do what they are supposed to do, ask. There are times when you need executive leadership to make decisions, so ask. 

 

  1. Genuinely Care 

The most important tip is to genuinely care about the success of your executive leaders. Demonstrate grit and the will to help them succeed. Be sensitive to the chemistry, timing, and leadership voids. Apologize when you screw up.  

Earning the trust and confidence of executive leaders is fulfilling.