Are You Building Authentic Relationships?

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Are You Building Authentic Relationships?

(posted: April 14th, 2009)

Great business teams are not necessarily top management teams.

They can be found in the boardroom, or on the shop floor. But, when a top executive team is great, it has the authority and positional charisma to build authentic relationships. These relationships then set in motion a chain reaction that can transform the performance of teams throughout the organization and prepare every team to excel.

According to Howard M. Guttman, building authentic relationships begins with each team leader posing tough questions in five key areas:

  1. What is the business strategy, and how committed are we to achieving it?
  2. What key operational goals flow from the strategy and how do we make sure these goals drive day to day decision making?
  3. Are we clear on roles and responsibilities?
  4. What protocols or ground rules will we play be as a team?
  5. Will our business relationships and inter dependencies be built on candor and transparency?

For any organization to raise its level of performance every team, on every level, must be a great team. That is to say; it must be aligned, or in sync, in five key areas listed above. Fear of change and widespread initiative fatigue make the status quo very seductive. But status quo will not work for your team or your organization.

"Some men see things as they are and say why? Others dream things that never were and say why not?"

George Bernard Shaw

Thinking about the team(s) you play on...

Challenge Yourself
  • What are your areas of strength and what areas could you focus your time and energy on in order to build authentic and successful relationships?

Let us know!

This blog post was originally posted at www.linked2leadership.com.