Career Prep 2009 Summer Blog

In How to Make the Right Friends inside Your Company (http://www.garfinkleexecutivecoaching.com/articles/buildingpositiverelationshipsatwork.html) Wayne Baker, Ph.D. writes - Remember your peers. Peers make powerful friends — but dangerous enemies. Peer relationships are complex because they involve a mix of both cooperation and competition. A peer today may be your boss tomorrow — or vice versa. Peer relationships are more important than ever, given the rise of such new corporate styles as multifunctional teams, "network" organizations and horizontal corporations. All replace the traditional top-down vertical hierarchy with a complex w eb of relationships. Peer relationships are not defined on organizational charts, which only define reporting relationships. But they're becoming more and more critical to one's success. The trick to building strong peer relationships is reciprocity. You help others, and you will be helped in the process. Don't make the worst networking mistake — forgetting to network at all because you think you are immune and don't have to do it. You must network inside your company to tap into the informal grapevine and be in the know about as much as possible. You need internal relationships to help you build your knowledge ... to protect you ... to provide allies who will come to your aid and defense. Finally, you need allies who can spread the word about you. It's no good working hard and smart if nobody knows about it. You need those relationships so people will know that you are doing a really great job.