Over the last 12 years at General Motors I have taken the time to build relationships with people.   I learned this lesson from one of my managers.  As a young engineer working on the Corvette program I was always working on making my designs the best they could be.  I didn’t want to “waste” my time and talk to the program time keeper.   There were a couple of things I did not understand.  One was I did not understand the big picture and that program timing was important.  Also, I did not take the time to understand the job of program time keeper.  What I failed to learn was that my program time keeper could help me or get me help if one of my supplier’s fell behind on timing. 

Build relationship to help you go faster

 Connecting and building relationship with people does take time.  You have to get to know someone at work that you interface with on a regular basis.   Building a relationship does not happen overnight.   One of the reasons for building relationships is to help you go fast when you need to.  For example, you know Tim in Accounting pretty well.  You eat lunch together once in a while and you played golf together in the company outing.   If you have a hot project that has to get accounting approval, which usually takes 2-3 days but you need a 24 hour turn around, chances are you can work with Tim to get it done because you have built  a relationship. 

Nurture your relationships

You don’t build relationships with people to use them to do a project and then never talk to them.  If you do this you may get to the top but you won’t last.  You will eventually end up flipping burgers at BJ’s Burger Shack because you can’t build a team.   It does take work and time to build a good network of relationships but it does pay off and sometime big.   I have had hot projects were I have used my network to get prototype parts built, costs approved by finance, and purchasing on board with a supplier in 3-4 days when it could have taken 3-4 weeks.   

You also want to be careful you don’t burn out your network.  If you always asking Susie in accounting for a favor because you forget to put in your time sheet, Susie will eventually put you on the bottom of her list of people to help.   

Take time to thank your network

This is one of the most important parts of building relationships with people.  If someone has consistently helped you out on projects, give them thanks.  Send them a card with encouraging words.  Or better yet, find out what they like and for their birthday or a holiday surprise them with a little gift.  This goes a long way in making your relationships stronger.

Here are some tips on building relationships with people.

As you work with your co-workers on projects take time to get to know them.  You may find out that you have a lot in common. 

•  Attend after work gathering at restaurants or pubs.
• Don’t rush You don’t have to be bff’s right way (bff = best friends forever)
• If a group of co-workers get together for lunch try to make it; eating lunch together builds a strong team
• Try to plan fun activities throughout the year everyone can enjoy.  A  golf outing, bowling, putt-putt golf.  This is a way to break the ice.

The list above is by no means comprehensive.  It is a start and I am sure you can think of more.  Keep building relationships with people and add value to people and you will have a long healthy career in front of you.