In work, play and life relationships matter. When assisting your department or team with projects and deliverables both internal and external relationships are critical. The relationships you have with co-workers, bosses and vendors are also vital when organization leaders are discussing personnel moves.
According to data published by Great Place to Work Institute, 30% of positions in the 100 Best Companies are filled internally. Your work does get noticed.
You need a strategy to build and nurture your internal and external networks. What’s yours? Is it any of these three?
- Wait till you need something, then ask.
- Help others all the time, hoping they will help you in the future, or
- Create a balanced approach that includes getting to know people so that you understand what is important to them and creating results that are of value to your network.
You may have guessed the third strategy is the one I recommend. It is too easy to spend time and energy on items that take up time yet net minimal real results.
Technology is a wonderful tool, yet it can too easily rob you of the opportunity of spending quality time with your boss, peers, friends, business associates and possible employers. Take a good look at your relationships. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who are you meeting with face-to-face?
- Who do you need to add to the list?
- What priorities, outcomes or results can you impact now? In 3 months? A year?
- What priorities, outcomes or results can your team impact now? In 3 months? A year?
- Who knows you?
- Who is getting the results you want to achieve?
Being promotable requires marketing yourself and your results. One of the more productive ways to market yourself is to understand, nurture and build key relationships.
What are three things you will do in the next 30 days to learn more about others, enhance your current relationships or connect with those who need to know you?
Three simple and yet powerful strategies, Cindy. “I love the wait till you need something then ASK” So many people go about this the wrong way…they ask before they truly need or they need something and don’t ask at all……
Love how you frame that for life and business!
I guess the right answer here is #3! Is it the best way? As usual your tips are awesome!!
Right on, Cindy. Every job I’ve gotten has been through a relationship, never through submitting a resume. And now that I have my own business, the clients come the same way.
The list of questions you provide is an excellent framework for intentional relationship building.
Great advise for all of us. Building relationships is such an important part of every facet in life.
Lori – you are a master relationship builder. Have an amazing week!
Thanks – Lilia
Great tips Cindy! It’s always important to keep our relationships in mind.
Cindy, I’ve shared this blog post with my Productivity for Scientists community. What I see in the scientists I get to work with that they often don’t think or hope they can be promoted or be offered a job by their current employer. As the result they resist even filling in the promotion forms, but then if you don’t fill them in, you won’t get promoted! It is something I found myself encouraging them to do: print out and fill in the forms.
I like the questions you offer to ask ourselves. My favourite is this “Who is getting the results you want to achieve?” My clients share with me that they feel resentment to successful colleagues, thinking that they don’t have the IQ, or abilities of that person, but what I find really helps is to shift into celebrating their successes and to begin to associate yourself with the people who already achieve the results you want.
Olga, Thank you for sharing this post with your Productivity for Scientists community. As you know, and the Scientists you help know yet as people WE all from time to time resist the doing the things that are new, different or sometimes that it is hard to see the payoff right now. Everyone needs to celebrate both BIG and small achievements and share those with the world – it just make life more fun! So delighted you are helping so many make a key shift. Have an amazing day!