How can you build relationships with people outside your department more effectively?

Building relationships with people outside your department, in my experience, is critical for fostering collaboration, among other things. Personally, I believe you should begin by attempting to engage in casual conversations with colleagues from other departments. You can do so by joining them during tea breaks, lunch breaks, or cross-departmental events or meetings. Second, I believe that expressing genuine interest in their work, as well as asking questions to learn more about their roles and wanting to know more about what they do, can help to build relationships. I also believe that people prefer people who listen, so active listening is essential for building relationships. Finally, be willing to offer assistance.

What I have found that works is having a conversation with not only the head of the department but with others who work within the department and simply asking: Is there anything that our department can do to simplify your job? If the feedback that you get is doable, then take the initiative and talk to the employees the report to you and see if they can implement the requests. Follow through and gain the trust of the other department.

Ask yourself what is your intention for building this relationship? Now ask yourself, what would be their intention to build the relationship with you? We are all busy. To get some time on someone's calendar means that they want to meet you and spend time for a purpose. The key is in the first interaction - understand what they care about, and how you can help support them. If you can do that, great..continue the discussion. Demonstrate authentic partnership.

Keeping an active relationship with people outside of the department needs few common grounds to discuss upon between those two people. Finding a common interest point is helpful in starting the conversation, followed by efforts to find common touch base points for keeping the discussion on different points alive. It could be anything from a sports to the company processes. Important part here is selecting a common point and keep doing it to put the touch base. Appreciating the thoughts and ideas while discussing is equally important as this helps in keeping the conversation alive and catches the interest of both the person involved.

We should be that smiling face that people look forward to seeing walk into a room. When you see them stop and ask how they are doing and then listen to what they are telling you. Truly connect with them and value their input and solutions as we would our own. People are our most valuable commodity, treat them as such. Take time to care about people, that in my opinion is how great relationships are developed.

Organize or participate in knowledge-sharing sessions that involve multiple departments. These could be workshops, webinars, or informal meetups where team members share best practices, challenges, and solutions. This not only enhances collective knowledge but also fosters a culture of openness and collaboration.

The key to effective communication is for everyone to be on the same page at least. The difference between the thought being communicated and the message understood by the receiver can really play a major role is miscommunication leading to other issues in workspace. Frequent and open communication is the solution here, creating a safe space and being open to adopting new perspectives. As humans we are hardwired to defend our current worldview and it can be challenging to accept new information that contradicts our current perspective. But nonetheless it is a skill that can be learnt and taught.

In a world filled with constant communication, the art of being genuine often takes a back seat. However, mastering the skill of genuine communication is essential for building stronger relationships. Authenticity fosters trust, respect, and deeper connections with others. Being present and fully engaged during conversations shows that you genuinely care about the other person. Maintain eye contact, nod to affirm understanding, and ask thoughtful questions. Genuine communication requires honesty and transparency. Express your thoughts and feelings truthfully, even if it means vulnerability. Strive to be authentic in your words and actions, as this cultivates trust and authenticity in return.

Recognize that one communication style doesn't suit everyone. It's vital to adapt your communication to meet the unique preferences of each stakeholder.

No one should tolerate talking to you if it's a nightmare having a conversation. Learn to express your ideas, ask clear questions and listen.

Data analytics can offer valuable insights into project outcomes and departmental performance. Sharing this data with colleagues from other departments can foster a results-driven dialogue. It can also help identify areas where collaboration could lead to improved performance, thereby providing a concrete basis for relationship building.

Seeking feedback shows that you trust their expertise. It's important to recognize and appreciate the expertise of colleagues from different departments and to show respect for their knowledge and contributions. Be sure to actively listen to the concerns, ideas, and needs of your colleagues from other departments. Showing that you truly value their input will help build trust, to many people ask a question without really listening to the answer.

Always be transparent and thorough with what exactly you do and why you do certain processes in your daily work. This opens up conversations with the other departments that may overlap in your work and could uncover a better way of doing something or even stop doing something, that is a waste of time and money, for you and the other departments. Teamwork truly makes the "dream work."

Seeking feedback and input is crucial for personal and professional growth. It's a testament to your commitment to improvement and your willingness to learn from others. Asking the right questions and genuinely listening to the responses can open doors to valuable insights and foster a culture of continuous improvement. It's a win-win for both sides – you gain knowledge, and your stakeholders feel heard and respected

At Apple we lived and breathed feedback culture and we're constantly getting into small meetings (huddles) to discuss feedback. One important thing to do before you give feedback is to ask for permission to give it. If the person is busy or in a bad mood it could make things worse and you could come across as earnest if giving negative feedback, even if it's meant as constructive. What I learned from my leaders is two things: 1. that feedback like a currency in bank account - it's good to give 7-8 positive bits of feedback before dishing out negative ones. This builds your balance up and creates trust. 2. feedback is a gift which doesn't have to be accepted or opened

I always make it a tick off on my list of to do's, thanking and acknowledge support offered and knowledge shared. I celebrate other departments success and milestones reached

In addition to understanding your stakeholders and identifying how each one can assist you - factors already mentioned here - I believe that building relationships should be genuine and based on a mutual exchange of benefits. Everyone wants to gain something. It's important to know how you can contribute to their business rather than just making requests.

Here's language that might be helpful to support a colleague in another department: "It looks like the --- project is really challenging and taking a lot of your time and energy. Is there something my department could take on that would help?"

If I see someone has done what I have asked of them I will send a thank you on teams. It might be a simple ask but the way you ask them is key. I recently supported a part of my business in reducing their aged records, I keep giving feedback on the progress as and when I analysed it. The feedback and support was well received. I got very excited when a tram had achieved all KPI for a particular month, I sent a very excited message giving them positive feedback

Weekly one on ones with your team as a leader have always been a great time to reflect. In person is better than virtually, in my opinion, if the business is built that way. Recognition should be authentic and genuine and not made up otherwise people will see through it. Milestones should be rewarded monetarily to make them significant and matter more.

I am of the opinion, recently, that diversity should include introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts. For example, a room full of extroverts will not be as creative, innovative, or decisive as a room with a mix of those personality traits. A healthy mix of these types of people can feed off of each other and ideate more successfully.

Every time we talk about diversity, the only thing that comes up is different skin colors, languages, cultures, or maybe different genders. However, we miss out on the part about Neurodiversity. We don't have nearly enough discussion and content to highlight the importance of Neurodiversity. We need to understand the importance and how to perceive and respect differently abled humans. Plus it can always add new perspectives and unique problem-solving skills to the team.

Leverage what I call "Your Leadership Color": The real insight comes when you recognize your own and your colleague's preferences to tailor your communication and interaction styles effectively. - The Visionary who likes big pictures can learn to provide clear action steps for the Organizer to translate her ideas into actionable plans. - The Organizer, methodical and structured, can involve the Collaborator & ensure the team's ideas are considered. - The Collaborator who always seeks consensus & input can learn to integrate data-driven points into her communication to align with the Strategist's. -The Strategist who thrives on data & and analytics can learn to use storytelling to make data more relatable & inspiring for the Visionary.

I believe it's important to take a humble approach in hearing why stakeholders may believe in a strategy other than your own. If there's an opportunity for you to partner cross-functionally, it's likely that those stakeholders come from a different role or domain area. They may have obtained a different type of degree or valuable project experiences learned from other successful companies. Holistic perspectives stem innovation!

I value the amount of difference and diversity we have in our company, much as this can cause misunderstanding and some unhappiness, it also create a space for people to raise their opinions and views.

The key to building any relationship is authenticity. If you show a genuine interest in what others in your organization are doing that is going to go a long way. It can't just be about what you think they can do for you. You never know what you might learn and ways to collaborate that might not have occurred to either of you if it was a more transactional dialogue.

I think a great way to build relationships across teams and departments are lunch and learn’s. Make these company wide where someone can share their expertise or interests outside of work. This way it is organized, impactful and a great way to build genuine relationships.

In the beginning always try to find the 'why' behind the thoughts of key decision makers. You will get where you need to be quicker. I go by this: PCC: -Protocol -Communication -Consistency

In my experience, genuine compassion for fellow employees is the fundamental ingredient to building organizational trust and this compassion has to be felt and seen in action, either with small gestures on a daily basis or extending unsolicited help in dire, critical situations. Trust is earned, given and sustained in organizations by consistent actions demonstrating sincere compassion, particularly that kind of compassion that does not require reciprocation. On a side note, i detest management imposed lunch-&-learn sessions as these activities take away precious personal time of employees - this is a prime example of lack of compassion by leaders to the team. My 2 cents.

In order to be trusted, follow the old adage, "Say what you do, do what you say." Trust and respect go hand in hand, which is where the second part comes in - in order to get trust or respect, you need to give it. If you can't trust your stakeholders, then that will come through and they will not give you their trust. If you try and still can't, then you are in the wrong environ, and that needs to change. If you try and can, then you are on a better path, and you will have company in your journey.

Foster connections across the entire organisation, transcending roles, responsibilities, and job titles. Every employee shares a common purpose and stands to gain everything and lose nothing by knowing and supporting one another. Whether it's through face-to-face interactions at networking events or online engagement such as liking, commenting, tagging, and sharing colleagues' posts, these actions will bring you closer together. Employee resource groups are a fantastic opportunity to network throughout businesses with a shared passion and purpose. Getting to know each other on a more personal level will help foster professional relationships rooted in mutual respect and understanding for the individual behind the job title.

ERGs are an excellent source of network and an amazing way to connect to others within the company in an very informal way, and build relationships. You start off by joining a group that has a group or interest in common with you. Many offer networking events and or activities that are build to get to know, support and facilitate new relationships, bounding and collaboration.

A practical and impactful way to build rapport beyond departments is the creation of one or more hero projects. A hero project from my experience is a relatively small project of 12 weeks duration with a major focus on a diverse and beyond department team. They work best if they are on an ‘edge’ topic for the business and based on a simple and clear strategic challenge statement. For example ‘explore and roughly prototype a new proposition area for the business that integrates ai capabilities’- a project like this needs a beyond department team and creates real meaning behind the relationship development. The future of work is beyond boundary, beyond department and very much agile project based.

I founded an Administrative Leadership Roundtable for the administrative professionals in our organization. During our 2024 quarterly meetings, rather than training, our focus will be our fellow associates and their teams. We are inviting other associates from other areas of our organization of which we'd like to learn more about. They will provide a brief presentation on what they do & how they support our organization - their "why". This will help our administrative professionals learn about departments and people they may not deal with often (network), and it will help them learn how they contribute to their success and thus the organization's overall success. And they will learn so much about us!

Make people feel important when you communicate with them, and help them to see that you pay attention then. Instead of asking them to send you information about X, Y or Z, start your message with "I'm looking for some expertise on X, have you a few minutes to help?". Use their name properly - spell it correctly in Emails and as them how to pronounce it. A person's name is the sweetest music they will hear from a colleague or stranger. Try it the next time you are shopping and the staff member has a name badge. Watch the smile.