INT 033: Building Effective Alliances in the Workforce, and Why It’s Necessary

Building alliances in the workforce is critical in finding an environment in which you can work successfully. Today on the Int-HER-rupt podcast, Linda is joined by the founder of The C-Suite Edge, Olivia Roehm, to discuss how you can build strong alliances and relationships in your professional life. 

Why is building effective alliances important?

• You typically expect different departments, especially finance and marketing, to be at odds - but their goals can and do align. It’s critical to come together and figure out where those goals align.
• A study from the wall street journal shows the average tenure of a chief marketing officer has gone down to 41 months.
• The relationships you build at a C-suite level can have long-term implications in your career, so fostering those relationships is critical.

How has Olivia personally created those alliances?

• Olivia acts on things within her control she can do quickly.
• One thing is building relationships - it takes just seconds to send that LinkedIn message or email.
• She noticed many women tend to struggle to give themselves proper credit within their industry, but showing your competency helps foster those meaningful alliances.

Has Olivia broken off or set boundaries in an alliance?

• There are always challenges, regardless of who you work with. But you have to realize which relationships you should nurture and which ones aren’t.
• However, this is a much larger issue in client relationships. Determine which clients provide long-time value, and dedicate your time and effort to maintain those relationships. 
• If a client is not a good alliance member and isn’t critical to your long-term success, evaluate if you truly want to do business with them.

Where do you feel is the easiest place to start building an alliance?

• Look to mentors and those you want to learn from, train with them, or ask for training opportunities.
• This training wasn’t a part of Olivia’s KPIs. But she made it part of her goals because she wanted to provide more value for clients, giving her long-term value.

And Olivia been interrupted? And how has she overcome those interruptions?

• Yes, and as a result, she’s worked to surround herself with leaders who support people in a respectful way.

Having leadership that will back her up and says, “This is not okay, we're not accepting this within our relationship,” is an excellent sign of a strong alliance. Cultivating those relationships has made Olivia’s life career stronger because she understands where the respectful disrespectful boundaries lie in the workplace.

Want to get in contact with Olivia? Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieving their sales goals.

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Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.