Relationships to achieve greater success in life

 

To achieve greater success, building a diverse network is essential—not just for immediate gains, but for long-term support and growth.

Here are 20 critical relationships and connections to cultivate:

Professional & Career Connections

1. Current Colleagues: The foundation for daily teamwork, trust, and creative problem-solving.
2. Direct Supervisors: Vital for feedback, day-to-day expectations, and career advocacy.
3. Former Colleagues: A bridge to new opportunities and unadvertised job openings.
4. Mentors: Experienced peers who provide guidance, advice, and a "big picture" perspective.
5. Industry Leaders: Connections with influential figures can provide deep market insights and strategic direction.
6. Recruiters: Specialists in your field who can help you land your "dream job".
7. Clients & Customers: Strong ties here lead to better service, loyalty, and sustainable business growth.
8. Interdepartmental Contacts: Connections outside your immediate team foster broader organizational understanding.
9. Professional Association Members: Peers in specialized groups who keep you abreast of industry trends.
10. Consultants & Experts: Specialized external resources for solving complex problems.

Personal & Growth-Oriented Connections

11. Relationship with Yourself: Prioritizing self-care and self-awareness is the bedrock for all other successful connections.
12. Family Members: A primary support system for resilience in the face of stress and trauma.
13. Close Friends: Real friends who stay through "the mess" and offer genuine emotional support.
14. Alumni & Former Classmates: A natural network based on shared history and educational backgrounds.
15. Professors & Educators: Past teachers often provide strong letters of recommendation and industry leads.
16. Role Models: People who reflect the person you want to become; their company inspires personal excellence.
17. Community & Volunteer Peers: Connections built through shared causes that expand your reach beyond work.
18. "Connectors": People who naturally enjoy introducing others, helping you bridge gaps in your network.
19. Strategic Allies: Peer-level partners who share your goals and can collaborate on mutual wins.
20. Trusted Advisors: A "sounding board" of diverse individuals for venting ideas and receiving honest feedback.

Which of these circles do you feel needs the most immediate attention—your professional network or your personal support system?

There are six human needs: love/connection, contribution, significance, variety, certainty, learning and growth. Love/connection is the most important basic human need. In order to achieve your full potential, you will need to build deep, trusting relationships with people in all areas of your life.

Here are at least 20 relationships for you to build in order to achieve greater success in life:

A. 3 LIFELINE RELATIONSHIPS

• Peer relationships with 4 main elements (generosity, vulnerability, candour, accountability)

B. 3 VITAL FRIENDS 

• 8 vital roles (builder, champion, collaborator, companion, connector, energizer, mind opener, navigator)

C. SPOUSE/PARTNER 

• People who are married tend to live longer. Married men particularly benefit from marriage.

D. 8 COACHES/MENTORS/ADVISORS/PROFESSIONALS

• Career, health, money, spouse/partner, friends/family/kids, physical environment, fun/hobbies, personal growth

E. PEER FORUM AND OR MASTERMIND GROUP 

• Peer group of Lifeline relationships with common goals
• Who are you and what do you want to get out of life?
• What are your strengths?
• Continue to build self-awareness and self-esteem

HERE ARE 6 STRATEGIES TO BUILD DEEP, TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE ON YOUR TOP 20 LIST:

1. Get real and park your ego: looking good, being right, being defensive, playing the blame game, needing to always be in control
2. Show respect: never say anything negative about anyone, get off your high horse
3. Choose a positive perspective on people: focus on strengths
4. Share your passions: what do you love to do?
5. Share your BHAGs (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals)
6. Share your past, present and future:
   • Past: 5 key events, 5 key choices, 5 key people in your life
   • Present: what are you worried about?
   • Future: What are you afraid of?

Book Sources

The Talent Advantage by Dr. Alan Weiss and Dr. Nancy MacKay, published by Wiley.

Who’s Got Your Back by Keith Ferrazzi

Vital Friends by Tom Rath

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

https://tinyurl.com/4vysfpar

It’s not just about who you know, but how deeply you connect:

Meaningful relationships can dramatically influence your career trajectory and open doors to opportunities that were previously out of reach.

❓ Why focus on meaningful connections?

➟ They provide richer, more reliable support.
➟ They enhance your understanding of industry trends.
➟ They create mutual opportunities for growth.

👉 Here’s how to build connections that are not only wide but also deep:

1️⃣ Be Genuine
2️⃣ Listen Actively
3️⃣ Show Empathy
4️⃣ Share Vulnerability
5️⃣ Offer Help and Support
6️⃣ Foster Mutual Respect
7️⃣ Celebrate Milestones
8️⃣ Remember Details
9️⃣ Be Present
🔟 Follow Up

📌 PS...Remember, networking is about quality connections, not just quantity

https://tinyurl.com/2h6c72m9

Serendipity

 

Luck or, attention, a new word for many - ... serendipity. Serendipity is when you currently have a positive result, you have success (applause/support), but you can't and/or don't want to understand the real reasons why. And if so, the chances of scaling this success are about the same as for a mouse with cheese in a mousetrap to open its own cheese factory. This is evidenced by the cases of many companies and, unfortunately, some countries. So what is better: success, the reasons for which are not clear, or failure, from which the appropriate conclusions have been drawn? Our new article in Strategy & Leadership (New York, USA), which includes this Learning From Execution Matrix, is for those of you who can smell the same serendipity traps and want to be in the Mastery Zone more often. 

Вдача чи, увага, нове слово для багатьох - ... серендіпіті.

Серендіпіті - це коли ти наразі маєш позитивний результат, маєш успіх (аплодисменти/підтримку), але не можеш та/чи не хочеш зрозуміти справжні причини чому.

А коли так - то шанси на масштабування цього успіху приблизно ж такі, як у миши з сиром в мишоловці відкрити власну сирну фабрику. 

Про це свідчать кейси багатьох компаній і деяких, на жаль, країн.

Тож що краще: успіх, причини якого незрозумілі чи невдача, з якої зроблено належні висновки? 

Наша нова стаття у американському Strategy & Leadership, яка містить цю Learning From Execution Matrix, для тих з вас, хто відчуває пастки тої самої серендіпіті та прагне найчастіше бути у Mastery Zone.

t.me/vladyslavbiloshapka

Simplify Leadership for Success

 

Justin Mecham

1. Dream Big

   • Actionable steps: Visualize your ultimate goal each morning. Write down three strategic actions weekly that move you closer to this vision.

2. Believe in Yourself

   • Actionable steps: Start a success journal. Each day, jot down one decision you made that had a positive outcome, reinforcing your self-efficacy.

3. Embrace Failure

   • Actionable steps: Create a 'lessons learned' log. Each time a project or task doesn't go as planned, note what you learned and how you can apply this knowledge in the future.

4. Take Action

   • Actionable steps: Implement a '5-minute rule'—if something takes less than five minutes, do it immediately. Set three 'must-do' tasks each day and complete them first.

5. Express Gratitude

   • Actionable steps: Write personalized thank-you notes or messages to individuals in your team at least once a week, specifying what you're grateful for.

6. Enjoy the Journey

   • Actionable steps: Keep a 'gratitude or achievement' diary. At the end of each day, reflect and write down one part of your day that you enjoyed or a small win.

7. Respect Diversity

   • Actionable steps: Schedule regular 'culture days' or 'diversity hours' where team members can share something unique about their background or perspective.

8. Find Balance

   • Actionable steps: Establish 'no meeting' time blocks during your week dedicated to family, hobbies, or self-care. Respect these blocks as you would any professional commitment.

9. Practice Empathy

   • Actionable steps: Initiate 'empathy exercises' in meetings where team members express their current feelings or challenges, and others reflect back their understanding.

10. Be a Good Listener

    • Actionable steps: Practice active listening in every conversation by turning off electronic devices, making eye contact, and asking open-ended questions to delve deeper into the speaker's perspective.

11. Prioritize Health

    • Actionable steps: Schedule workout sessions as you would business meetings. Choose one day a week to plan a healthy meal menu, and take short mental breaks every two hours during work to refocus.

12. Take Responsibility

    • Actionable steps: When errors occur, openly acknowledge them to your team, discuss what can be learned, and describe concrete steps you'll take to prevent a recurrence.

13. Lifelong Learning

    • Actionable steps: Dedicate at least one hour per week to learning something new related to your field. This could be through webinars, reading, or online courses.

14. Value Relationships

    • Actionable steps: Set up monthly 'coffee chats' with different team members or colleagues to build and maintain relationships beyond the confines of work-related tasks.

15. Be Patient

    • Actionable steps: When feeling rushed, take five deep breaths before responding to a situation. Integrate a 10-minute meditation or quiet reflection into your daily routine to cultivate patience.

16. Maintain Integrity

    • Actionable steps: Reflect on your day every evening and assess if your actions aligned with your core values. If not, identify why and how you can correct this moving forward.

Practice Empathy

My team was facing a critical deadline, and I noticed one of our key members was not their usual self, missing details they would typically catch. Their performance had dipped noticeably over the past week.

I approached them privately to discuss the change. It turned out they were dealing with a family health crisis and were struggling to manage the stress. I could see the strain in their eyes, the weight of their world was tangible, and it was affecting their work.

To address this, I offered them the option to work from home and adjusted their workload to accommodate their situation. I also connected them with our Employee Assistance Program, which could offer professional support.

Over time, they were able to find a balance and their performance recovered, not only restoring their previous high standards of work but also reinforcing their trust in the team and the company.

Actionable Tips to Practice Empathy:

• Approach the individual privately to discuss any noticeable changes in behavior or performance.

• Offer a listening ear without judgment and ask open-ended questions to understand their situation.

• Provide flexible working arrangements or adjustments to workload where possible.

• Refer them to professional support services if available.

• Follow up regularly to show continued support and to make further adjustments as needed.

Here's how you can make it real over the next 4 days:

Day 1: Listen Intently

• Today, focus on listening more than speaking in all your conversations.

• Pay close attention to what others are saying, and resist the urge to interrupt or formulate your response while they are speaking.

  • ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "Provide strategies for active listening that help in fully understanding someone's message without planning my response while they are speaking?"

Day 2: Acknowledge Feelings

• In every interaction, acknowledge how the other person might be feeling.

• You can say something like, "It sounds like that was a frustrating experience," or "I can imagine that made you happy."

  • ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "How can I effectively recognize and validate someone's emotions during a conversation to improve our communication and connection?"

Day 3: Offer Support

• Reach out to a colleague or team member and offer your support.

• It can be as simple as asking, "Is there anything I can do to help you today?"

  • ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "What are some ways I can offer genuine support to a colleague or friend today, showing empathy and understanding for their situation?"

Day 4: Reflect and Share

• Reflect on a time when someone showed empathy to you and how it made a difference.

• Share this experience with your team to encourage a culture of empathy.

  • ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "What are effective ways to share my own experiences of empathy in a team meeting to inspire a culture of understanding?"

Let the commitment and insights gained not just linger as thoughts but manifest in your actions. Repeatedly.

In embracing these lessons, remember that leadership is not a title but a journey of continuous growth.

A wonderful journey impacting lives and shaping futures beyond what's immediately visible.

Consider how each lesson can transform not just your approach to leadership but also how it can elevate those around you, creating a legacy of positive change.

https://tinyurl.com/ywk2uefy