Made in the Crockpot

I sat in meetings this week with two different organizations. Both are well respected in their marketplace with passions to make lasting impact. One was looking at data from a survey and discussing how to get better and increase customer loyalty. One was looking to the future and how to ensure that its "DNA" is embedded in its strategic initiatives to broaden its impact. Both organizational discussions came back to relationship building as being a core value and difference maker. Both organizational discussions landed on similar threads - how do we build this value into new and changing delivery models or squeeze it into already busy schedules and tight budgets?

The challenge is that bigger, faster, better leans toward a "microwave" mindset in many cases - push the button wait 3-4 minutes and you have success. However, relationship building requires a "crockpot" mindset - a realization that flavor and uniqueness is better when time it given. There might be a quick connection made, but it is the ongoing dialogue and time engagement that enrich the relationship. When changing priorities, workloads, and daily challenges grow in intensity, the microwave time gets the short term win. The net effect is that an important asset necessary to an organization that values relationships slowly fades away at a speed that is not noticeable.

At the 2012 Global Leadership Summit, relationship building came up in almost every presentation. It played into conflict resolution, accountability, succession planning, organizational health, navigating the generations, decision making, and transformed lives. Intentionally strengthening relationships will create a better leader. And as Bill Hybels noted, "everyone wins when the leader gets better".

Grab the crockpot and follow these three steps (plus a bonus 4th) to enhance relationship building:

• MODEL: Include relationship building time into your schedule. Block the time off and protect it. Use it for relationship building practices no matter how tempting to include other things that might seem important.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Include relationship building reports on your agenda for team or individual meetings. Ask for updates on work that had been done since the last meeting to deepen an important relationship for the organization or agreed success standards.
• PRIORITIZE: If relationship building is a part of the core for your organization, prioritize it at a high level. Determine if there is a trump value to it and if there is, clarify and communicate it in explicit terms. 
• SHARE: Tell stories that highlight the difference relationships have had and the impact it has had for the individual. Share what deepened the relationship and trust. People remember stories and relate to them.