Manage relationships and then get the work done

By William Seidman I’ve been working with two people in big companies who are feeling frustrated. Both are very accomplished, successful individual contributors who are getting marginalized by their organizations. In one sense, they are creating the problem for themselves; they think that simply working hard, and achieving tangible results, will gain them the respect they desire. They are not really managing their environment, though. It feels odd to both of them to have to manage their manager and their peers. A hard truth is that success in an organization has much more to do with managing the relationships around you than just getting work done. I suggested that both re-think their role into managing their program rather than just working.  It’s not easy, but it is the only way to success.]]>