As I poke around trying to make some changes in my professional life, I am constantly reminded that it’s all about relationships. A relationship got my foot in the door for my current job, and chances are a relationship will lead to my next opportunity as well. I’m exploring some internal transfer opportunities, and even within the company, it’s as much about who you know (and who knows you and is willing to step up for you), as about what you know. It’s possible the relationships are even more important.
They’re definitely important in the kind of work I do. Whether as an internal or external consultant, I’m typically in a client-facing role. In my current job, I spend a lot of time running interference between parties, getting people who don’t always talk to each other to not only talk to each other, but have real communication. That takes trust, it takes openness, and it takes valuing and maintaining those relationships. There’s a little bit of playing politics as well, but if the relationships are strong enough, it’s a lot easier to withstand the politics (or even ignore it).
I’m not sure I really have a profound ending to this post, but I did have that moment of clarity today when I had a conversation about my future that could have been highly political, but because of a strong relationship I have, was instead highly personal. That’s the way it should be.