Melati Puspa Putri29114355Reading SummaryPeople in Organizations

Building Effective One-on-One Work Relationship

Basic thinking skills play a key role in building effective working relationships. Any sophisticated marketing proposal, for instance, depends on collecting valid data, analyzing it carefully, and testing the inferences and conclusions drawn from the data.The first step in being an effective network-builder is identifying those with whom you are interdependent to get your job done (these interdependencies may not be symmetric). Ask yourself the following questions: Whose cooperation do I need? Whose compliance do I need? Whose opposition would keep me from accomplishing my work? Who needs my cooperation and compliance?To be competitive in a global economy, companies are breaking down traditional boundaries to create lean, adaptive, entrepreneurial organizations. Effective managers must know how to build relationships, based on mutual expectations, trust, and influence, with the complex network of people with whom they are interdependent.How are they different from you? What differences (e.g, goals, values, stakes, pressures, working styles) exist between me and the people on whom I am dependent? What are the underlying factors that have created or are reinforcing these differences (e.g., differences in information, incentive plans)?How are your relationships developing? What are your relationships like with them? Have you built the relationship in the first place? Do you need to cultivate it? Do you need to improve or repair it?Balancing inquiry and advocacy. Advocacy without inquiry usually begets more advocacy. But inquiry without advocacy can also be counterproductive. That is why, a balanced advocacy and inquiry are needed. Reflection and inquiry allow you to question your own mental models and change them when necessary. These skills help you clarify your assumptions, uncover internal contradictions in your assumptions, and then develop a more accurate and refined mental model based on tested assumptions.