Build Relationships, Get Promoted

The best predictors for promotion revolve around building relationships at work. That’s right—not competence, intelligence, or even exceptional strategic or operational ability—but rather, relationships. In research for their book The Leadership Machine, Michael M. Lombardi and Robert W. Eichinger studied over 1,000 people across a two-year period. They had performance, promotion, and/or termination information for all. The results were conclusive: relationships and networking largely determine who gets ahead. They found that three of the top five predictors of promotion for managers and executives were boss relationships, peer relationships, and customer relationships.
And of course the flip side of this—what gets both managers and executives fired the most? Having weak relationships and networks. “People may excel at most of the competencies fairly important to performance, yet get dismissed,” state Lombardi and Eichinger. Does that sound familiar to you? It does to me. I have seen more than one extremely competent co-worker flame out simply because he or she wasn’t organizationally savvy.

I have similarly seen those who I didn’t think were exceptionally talented thrive in organizations largely because they were well-liked. The more bureaucratic the organization, the more this holds true. Managing up, understanding the politics, and getting along with co-workers are all necessary parts of playing the corporate game.

The rules of this game aren’t that difficult to learn. A good place to start is by knowing yourself. It’s difficult to have successful interaction with others if you don’t knowing yourself well, hopefully better than anyone else does. What are your motivations? Fears? What hits your hot buttons? It’s easier to manage and relate to others if you know yourself.

The next step to better interpersonal relationships is to understand others—their motivations, fears, etc. The biggest “aha” for many hard-driving professionals is that everyone doesn’t necessarily think the way they do. As Baroness Pauline Perry of Southwark, a member of England’s House of Lords and former Chief Inspector of Schools, remembers, “I didn’t realize until late in my career that everyone is not as ambitious as I am. Quite a lot of people are content and happy with where they are. I had to learn to manage different people differently.”

Successful leaders understand others and build relationships around this knowledge. They make sure they learn how their boss is compensated and what her motivations are. They take the time to get to know the psyches of their co-workers and direct reports better.

I have found that altering my style in order to make others more comfortable yields big rewards. I’m not talking about changing your ethics or personality; I’m talking about the style you use in interacting with others. If it sounds like a game, maybe it is. You decide if and how you put time and energy in nurturing relationships and developing an adaptable style—but at least know the rules so your decision about whether to play or not is an informed one.

By Erin Wolf