I thought I’d share a recent story about a business leader I know who found his role and his responsibilities so changed that he was not sure how he was going to function in his workplace. He was a strong leader, had led teams, but had difficulty engaging others as his skills in communication were not developed. His shyness was seen as arrogance, and his brilliance often went unrecognized and untapped.

As we worked together on the science of networking and connection, especially with peer leaders, the change in him began almost immediately. Where once he would not approach others due to a competitive environment, he now looked for natural ways to create connection and opportunities with his colleagues.

For several months he used his time to engage others in projects, and to give assistance and time when it was needed. He deliberately spent time listening to others, and responding to their communication, rather than just giving his.

Now he is seen as a valuable asset, and has been chosen to lead an important project to align the company with what is currently vital in the field, and for development in the future.

In this example, you can see that Strategic Partnership as a Positive Intelligence skill was a very important asset for him to have. If you are struggling with establishing partnerships within your organization, my suggestion is to make a list of the qualities that would be beneficial within a strategic partner and a developed partnership, and that would enhance your strategic plan.

Next, embrace communication and connection as vital skills any leader must have in order to succeed. While it does not come naturally to most of us, these skills are necessary to create the connections, which create the partnerships, leading to greater success. Don’t let your inner saboteur, out of mistrust and the need to protect one’s image, prevent you from honing your communication skills and making these important connections and partnerships.

I’ll write more on these skills in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, a suggested read for looking at your own inner saboteur is Positive Intelligence; author Shirzad Chamine

Do you have a leadership question, challenge, or success you would like to share, please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

As we were talking, she clearly understood the importance of strategic partnerships with leaders from other companies who use her services or vice versa. But she was struck that she had never considered strategic partnerships within the units of her business and began to consider what it might be like to sit down and develop joint goals whereby both units would be able to accomplish what they had not been able to do on their own. What if there were larger goals that they had never even thought of before that could increase the success of the whole business?

It was a great question, so today I thought I would focus on setting up those joint efforts within your organization to enlarge the scope of the business.

As a leader in your organization one important aspect of leadership behavior is the ability to influence others.

Do you sometimes hold back in your conversation because you are unsure of how to express your thoughts or ideas?

Do you sometimes not contribute to meeting discussions because you have heard what you have to say expressed by someone else; telling yourself and others that you have nothing to add?

If you answered yes to either or both than you are not using your influence as effectively as you can.

As you are prioritizing connection and partnership it is important to remember that others want to know what you think even if someone else has already expressed it. The willingness to share your thoughts and opinions is a cornerstone to partnership and collaboration.

A former client of mine, who is the leader of the IT function in his organization, was well thought of but a mystery to his co-workers. Not being aware of his mystery status, he felt isolated and as a result did not contribute to discussion in leadership meetings unless he had something new or earth shattering to say.

As he opened to contribution, just to let people know how he felt, his co-workers felt more comfortable with him, and began to seek him out since he was knowledgeable and could assist them in their endeavors. In addition, the whole corporate services leadership team came together and was able to assist each other with the strategic questions that each of them was having within their own unit. He became a much more engaged member of the team, and was able to further develop the team that he led, creating more influence in other areas of the business as he fostered more connections.

Influence is an essential function of connection and partnership. Next week might be a good time to consider setting up some connecting appointments with key members of your organization with an eye to how partnerships can help reach and expand company goals.

Do you have a question, challenge, or success you would like to share? Please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

What are the changes necessary in mindset and behavior that will enable her to take that jump, and how many of you know top executives who have not done that? You may even suspect that you yourself need to expand vision and connections but do not know how, or have not found the time when so many immediate things are calling.

Expanding your Leadership network, as well as creating strategic partnerships can be important steps. Often these network connections can occur outside of your organization, and once you establish those, it becomes easier to find connections within the organization.

How often have you been called upon to lead an internal project that involves two or more functional units of the business? Have you noticed how difficult communication about the simplest things can be stymied by lack of understanding, almost as if you were speaking different languages?

Another client of mine decided to contact the other Vice Presidents in his organization and schedule a lunch that could be repeated once a month or even once a quarter. What happened for him was that he created a totally different perception of the other senior leaders and began to communicate more effectively. His mindset altered because they were seen as resources for him in his own work and he could visualize the possibility of joint endeavors with them as a reality.

My current client is part of a large organization that has a myriad of community connections. For her, creating a leadership network in the larger community will increase her profile, increase the profile of the business, and create opportunities for joint ventures and innovative opportunities.

Often this kind of activity sits on the back burner as internal needs and crises take the energy and time of top leaders. As you create time for these activities, there is an opportunity to develop your team to interact and communicate as leaders with each other. Are you the hub of your team wheel or do the team members interact and partner together?

Developing your leadership team is an activity that takes some time and focus. I bring it up here because that activity goes along with creating time for your leadership network both within and beyond your organization.

With focus on collaborative leadership, leadership behaviors within your team can be expanded. The development of partnerships and projects can evolve so that you do not have to be involved in the everyday detail and trouble shooting.

Once the communication and connection is established your ability to delegate with confidence increases and there is an increased sense of ownership and engagement. The intra team partnerships can create an opportunity for accountability support so that when they report in at meetings they can give a good picture of what is working, what is not working and the plans for moving forward.

Your action plan for the week: Make a connection with another leader either within your organization or outside and plan a lunch or coffee.

Have a good two weeks and if you have any questions, challenges, or successes you would like to share in the meantime, please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia