Build Internal Business Alliances

Make Friends with People and Processes

I’ll never forget reading a short column in the Harvard Business Review years ago that gave this straightforward advice:

Your number one priority whenever you step into a new leadership role—is to network.  

The author was underscoring the importance for leaders in organizations to connect with one another, especially across organizational or departmental boundaries.  The idea is to avoid the dysfunctional isolation that often occurs as organizations grow and tend towards inevitable siloing. 

We naturally drift apart

It happens organically and often imperceptibly—that departments / divisions become more specialized and more focused in their own unique areas of function.  So it requires leaders to exert an intentionally opposing activity of collaboration in order to counter the inherent inertia of dissociation that develops in organizations over time.

Take the TIME and Make the EFFORT to Connect!

That requires managers to think organically (and cooperatively) about the functions they oversee—to understand how their area is connected to other areas in the organization.  That pushes leaders to reach out to other leaders; learn about other functions; become aware of the interconnectedness of the work; collaborate with other leaders; cooperate by coordinating their work with the work of others.  It is a highly interactive; highly interpersonal part of the work they do as a leader.

Success is a Community Effort

It means letting go of any egoistic tendencies toward kingdom-building or self-aggrandizement in favor of supporting the overall success of the organization.  That requires a delicate balance between ambition and humility.  No wonder effective managers are at a premium in most organizations!

Issue #12 of The LeadershipTracks newsletter presents this concept of reaching out and building what some call “internal business alliances.”  You can access it here.  And don’t forget to download the companion issue of The Personal Trainer.  It provides a simple form you can use to ask the right questions of colleagues and get the answers you need to collaborate effectively and exert positive influence on fellow managers.  You can access it here. 

And stay connected with this blog—I promise to keep giving you plenty of fresh insight and practical tools!

Yours for better leaders and better organizations,

Dr. Jim Dyke – The Boss Doctor^TM