Professional Relationships Drive Career Growth
Are you a university student worried about securing a job after graduation? Or are you a leader finding it difficult to receive adequate support from other teams or departments? You may also be searching for something to help you stand out for your next career growth opportunity.
Many people misunderstand the value of having and building
professional relationships. Building relationships can improve your career in
many situations. However, you must start now! Professional relationships work
best when you have them before you need them. Nobody likes hearing from you
only when you need something. Think about that friend who only calls when they
are moving 😊.
You're being held back because you haven’t yet invested
enough in professional relationships!
Value of Professional Relationships
Over years of supporting people’s careers, I have observed
that people on upward trajectories have something that sets them apart. In
school, being smart or working hard will often set you apart. At some point, it
takes both; you’ll need to be smart and hard-working to stand out. By the time
you get neck deep into your career, everyone around you will likely be smart
and hardworking, so what is next?
Professional relationships will help set you apart from the
other hardworking, smart people around you. Ultimately, your ability to learn
from and work within these relationships will increase your value to the
business.
A Word About Teams
This is probably a good place to explain my perspective on
teams. Your team is anyone you must work
with to get your project from start to finish.
This means people who may report directly to you, your peers (the people
who report to the same manager as you), and people who may not be in your
reporting chain but are part of getting the project out the door.
It takes many people to complete a project, and they are all
on your team. Especially in technology projects, it is less and less likely
that any one person will do an entire project on their own every year.
From your Current Seat
Let’s explore how professional relationships can help you in your current position. Career opportunities can be thought of as a combination of skills and luck. Many say luck is mostly about being in the right place and at the right time. I think it is more about being on someone's mind when an opportunity comes up. Building professional relationships before you need them can significantly increase your chances of being the first name on the list for new opportunities. These relationships can also help add value to your current team and projects.
Value to Your Team & Projects
Whether you are a leader or not, building solid
relationships both inside and outside your current team often has an outsized
effect on making things go smoothly and reducing frustration.
First, making negative assumptions about others' intent is
natural and common when we don’t know them. Strong relationships with people
who are part of or related to your team and project will help you understand
what drives their decision-making. This will allow you to have open
conversations about what will make the best course correction or compromise in
each situation.
Next, with knowledge of other people's or teams’ processes
and priorities, you can adjust your work, priorities, and expectations to make
things move smoothly from one step to the next. More importantly, you can help
those around you make the same choices because you can bring information they
may not be aware of. The more you know
about what people expect from you and your team, the easier it is for you to
deliver things to them or work with them when exceptions need to be made.
Especially when that other person might be in a place of authority over you 😉.
Skill Building & Feedback
When you consider other people's interests, expectations, priorities, and backgrounds, you can provide more effective feedback. This feedback can help validate a decision or direction and suggest ways to adjust work habits to better align with others.
Promotions or Internal Transfers
Many internal promotions and transfers are decided based on existing
connections and relationships. Learning about other groups and how they work
can significantly help if you want to move to another team or into leadership. With
connections across your organization, you will have more opportunities to share
your interests and career goals. When a high-profile project or new position becomes
available, you are more likely to be the person they are considering. This is
how you create lucky career opportunities.
When it is Time to Change Seats
When the time comes that you are ready for a career or
company change, your relationships provide a valuable service. They help you
get your foot in the door. Why not ask someone
you know about how the career or company works?
Learn the pros and cons before getting fully committed. When you decide
to apply for that next role, your connections can help you get to the front of
the interview line. Or they can help you create contacts and opportunities as
you grow your new business.
A Moment Before We Take Action
Consider this quote from a post by Rodolfo Anes Silveira,
PhD.
“Being helpful and paying it forward can make an impact and open doors you never imagined.” - It’snot about Collecting Business Cards or Adding Contacts on LinkedIn
Don’t make the mistake of allowing professional
relationships to be only about you. If you expect someone to help you, it helps
immensely when you offer your knowledge and skills to them. This means that you
need to do the work to open doors and make yourself useful to them in some way.
What you offer doesn’t necessarily need to be tangible or
direct. Maybe they need information about how your team makes decisions or
someone outside their org tree to chat with. Personally, I always get joy from
helping people improve their careers. If someone reaches out to me genuinely
wanting to learn, you are increasing my happiness, and that is often enough for
me to help you the first time.
Be thoughtful about where you limit what is offered to
others. Sometimes, what is needed isn’t part of your job description or the
official process. Look for an opportunity to learn something or grow your
skills while fostering a great relationship.
Avoid, “That is not my job!”
Where do You Start?
By this point, I hope you are sold on the need to build
professional relationships. However, you might have some questions and limiting
thoughts.
What will I talk about?
I don’t want to bother them.
What if they are busy?
I don’t want to waste their time.
Here is a guide for getting started building relationships
across your organization. Start with a plan, schedule some time, and go meet
with them!
Plan A Little, but not Enough!
As with all things, start by making a plan. But don’t wait
until the plan is complete or you are ready. Relationships take time to build
and sooner is better than later. The old saying goes, “The best time to plant a
tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
Building relationships is a skill that will compound over
time. I encourage you to start small and with curiosity. Start with a couple of
people who are close to your position and work your way out.
Make time to think about what you would like to learn and who
can best help you understand that topic. Do your best to approach all these
conversations from a perspective of learning what they do and why it is
important from their perspective. It is easy to get distracted by your assumptions
about their job, making it challenging to truly learn about the business.
Here are some idea starters:
- Who is responsible for input to your team? These
people can help you learn how they create what you depend on. Understanding how
they work can help you and your team work with them better. Consider what you
can off them. Do they do something you never use? Can you offer a more
straightforward solution to what they do?
- Who receives the product your team produces? These
people can best be considered your customers, even if they are not the final
customer of the product. Learn how these
teams process or use what you make. Understanding how they work can help you
and your team optimize what you do to help them. Consider what you can offer
them. Knowledge about how your work is
produced. A way to work differently to make their job easier?
- Who is in a role you are interested in? These people can help you understand the ins and outs of places you want to grow. Look for areas to focus on to improve your skills and create opportunities to take on new projects. Also, look for things you don’t like and should change directions about. Consider what you can offer them. Is there work you can do for them? Can you make their job easier?
As you grow these relationships expand beyond them to the
next layer of the business and beyond.
Nothing Left but To Do It!
This is probably the most challenging part. It's time actually to talk to some people.
When I first realized the importance of reaching out and
talking to more people, I procrastinated. I overcame my block by scheduling
time on my calendar that said, “Stand up and go talk to John!”. When these times came up, I would swing by
their desk and ask if they had time to answer some questions. Over time, it became easier to chat with
people, and I stopped needing the calendar reminders. My curiosity was enough to
get me moving.
Here is my advice: "Cold call” them. You would be
surprised at how willing people are to talk to you, especially when you ask
about them and their work. People like to talk about what they do. If you take
the first step and show up with a curious attitude, you will make progress.
Schedule a specific time to reach out. Walk to their desk,
schedule a meeting, email them, or send a direct message. If you do not have
their contact information, connect with them on a social network or ask another
connection to introduce you. Offer to treat them to coffee, lunch, or drinks.
You may find getting people to open up away from their desks is easier.
Here is where your planning comes in. When you reach out,
share with them what you would like to learn and how you think they can help.
Wrapping it Up
Professional relationships can accelerate your career.
Knowing more about the people and teams around work will improve your ability
to collaborate and make decisions that support everyone’s goals. Knowing more
about how the business runs will help put you in the right places at the right
times to get you high-visibility projects and move you to the front of the line
for promotions and career opportunities.
Get started by applying your curiosity to learn about the
teams that support you and those you support. Start by specifically scheduling
some time and cold-calling the people you can learn from. You will be surprised
how many would happily share what they do with you.
Remember, build relationships before you need them. Then, when you need support, they will be more willing to help.
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