Competency #4: Relationship Builder!
Gary C Laney
2X #1 Bestselling Author | Keynote Speaker | Leadership Advisor | Award Winning Sales Leader | Serial Entrepreneur | Co-Founder, Former CEO Trustegrity Networking | Former Hi-Tech Exec | CEO SBL Mastermind | Kellogg MBA
Welcome to Influential Leadership, a monthly newsletter about how to build, maximize and share your influence as a leader! Subscribe Now to get your monthly copy as we will explore what it means to master the competitive competencies of effective leadership.
If you have the desire and commitment to become a highly influential leader, this newsletter is for you. The concepts I share are inspired by my research and survey in 2020 to more than 1,000 business executives and entrepreneurs, from my 25 plus years in corporate leadership, from my experience as an investor, leader and/or founder of 20 startup business ventures, and from my bestselling book, “The Power of Strategic Influence. 10 Success Factors of Highly Influential Leaders.”
If you want to know more about me, check out my LinkedIn profile , and my book, “The Power of Strategic Influence , currently on sale at Amazon. I’m continually seeking to connect with likeminded business leaders.”
In this very exciting edition, we will cover Competency Number 4, “Relationship Builder.”
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER?
In your voyage of relationship building for professional and personal influence, once you have a sufficient grasp of the influential players in your industry or social circle (I say “sufficient grasp” because the process is never-ending), you need to prioritize them. You need a navigation plan to help you as you pursue high-level networking based on relationship building, thereby increasing your influence.
TO BECOME A COMPETENT RELATIONSHIP BUILDER, FOCUS ON YOUR INTENTIONS
Because high-level networking is based on relationship building (which continues to increase influence) takes time, you need to be focused on your intentions and your planning. Nothing happens overnight, and it’s easy to either become impatient or lose sight of your vision for success.
The competency of Relationship-building will help you be a good leader and coach. It will help you build a strong team with the right talent, to foster mutual trust, and to inspire high performance with the expectation of high rewards. It’s all about having the ability to connect people who can work well with each other and can add value to each other.
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SKILLS
Relationships are formed by connecting with people and are solidified when you’re able to solve problems and create opportunities together. Here are my Five Relationship Building Skills you should learn to use when building relationships. As you review these skills, ask yourself, which ones am I already adept at, and which of the five do I need to work on?
FIVE SKILLS TO LEARN FOR BUILDING POWERFUL RELATIONSHIPS
Relationship Skill #1 (Be Intentional) Seek out people who share your same vision of success.
Unless you’re entering into a purely transactional relationship (such as, you’re going to sell them something and then walk away), be intentional. Choose carefully to spend your valuable time only with people who are oriented towards success and who want to get things done. Don’t become identified with people who are unmotivated or who are looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.
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Relationship Skill #2 (Be Authentic) Show genuine interest in their business.
Show genuine interest in their business. Before you meet with someone, take the time to research their company. Find out who they are, what they do, and what they’ve posted on social media. Get to know their business as if it were your own. Having a genuine interest and passion for their company shows that you don’t care about ingratiating yourself with them or selling them something, but that you care about offering them something of value and creating results.
Perhaps even more important that all other preparation methods, prepare mentally to enter the meeting place, and to be an ACTIVE LISTENER. Show the person you are with that you are prioritizing your time with them, by focusing on the time you have together. As my friend Bill suggested years ago, when you are in the presence of another person or small group, BE FULLY PRESENT! That simply means you are present in the situation, not being distracted by outside interference, not thinking about your next meeting, or even deadlines coming up. You are 100 percent focused on the person you are with and for the very purpose you arranged to meet.
Relationship Skill #3 (Be a Giver) Give before taking. Elevate yourself as a potential partner by offering knowledge or help to solve a business problem.
People will come to you because they want help in your area of specialization. Become a problem solver and give first before you take. Share your valuable lessons and pass on expert advice to your colleagues. If you can prove you know something that will help their business, you will elevate yourself to a valuable partner rather than simply a grip-and-grin person at the Rotary Club lunch meeting. This type of approach will build immediate trust and afford you opportunities you would never otherwise realize.
Relationship Skill #4 (Mix it up) Celebrate what makes you different. Be open to new ideas.
When seeking to build relationships and constructing a team, it is important to seek our opportunities to connect with, associate with, and partner with people who have different skillsets than you do. Not only will you become popular for celebrating what makes you different, you will discover that when each person brings different talents and competencies to the relationship, your potential towards achievement as partners or a team, will greatly be enhanced.
By bringing diverse talents and skillsets together, in the environment of cooperation, and likeminded goals, your success together can be endless. Too many people seek to associate with people who are very similar in personality, background, and expertise. While this may allow you to feel comfortable, remaining in the herd will not challenge your abilities, and will not allow new ideas to unfold. The herd is full of people who aren’t going to rise very far. As new challenges emerge—the pace of disruptive innovation is accelerating, not slowing down. So MIX IT UP, by intentionally seeking out relationships with people who can help bring out your potential, and you theirs.
Relationship Skill #5 (Inspire Others) Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.
Relationship building is all about an exchange of value. If you can offer new ideas and new approaches to problems at hand, the people you seek to associate with, will be attracted to you. This attraction, can help you connect with some of the brightest and most talented people on this planet we call earth. Just because people or businesses have always done things a certain way in the past doesn’t mean it’s the best way today. Come to the table with new ideas, emerging opportunities, and fresh viewpoints your colleagues haven’t realized even existed. Saying “yes” to the same old thing isn’t going to gain you any influence. It’s only going to reveal you to be a milquetoast manager who doesn’t appreciate innovation.
TAKEAWAY
"The golden rule in networking and relationship building, which makes it a positive and potentially productive, and gratifying experience, is this: Give more than you get."
Stay tuned for our next edition of leadership Competency # 5: Strategic Planner
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2 年Great article Gary C Laney! Authenticity, giving to others, being inspirational with the people in your professional circle -- reap relationships.
Focused on improving your sales, channel visits and customer experiences with a combination of data, strategy, Marketing programs & tactics to drive desired results. Fractional Marketing Services & CMO on Demand.
2 年Gary C Laney great tips here.
Marketing & Content Strategy Consultant | I help professional service business owners with marketing strategies that create consistent growth by building relationships which grow communities |Founder- Humanizing Business
2 年That's an excellent set of tips for power ( as I call it) relationships! Thank you for sharing this Gary C Laney
Thinker, Co-Founder, Entrepreneur, Initiator, Mentor
2 年Excellent learning, thank you for helping us by sharing your excellent experience Gary C Laney