This course provides insight into the key professional skills needed by managers at all levels of an organisation. You’ll learn key skills such as how to make a positive first impression; how to become a role model at work; effective time and resource management; and networking. This course forms part of a specialisation from the University of London designed to help you develop and build the essential business, academic, and cultural skills necessary to succeed in international business, or in further study. If completed successfully, your certificate from this specialisation can also be used as part of the application process for the University of London Global MBA programme, particularly for early career applicants. If you would like more information about the Global MBA, please visit www.londoninternational.ac.uk/mba This course is endorsed by CMI
Key Concept and Case Study: Interview with Oliver James | How to Build Effective Relationships
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Professional Skills for International Business
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Creating A Positive First Impression
In week one we will look at workplace relationships and communication, including making a positive
first impression, collaborative stakeholder relationships, verbal and non-verbal communication, and how technology can impact on these areas.
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David JamesFounder and Director, DJ Learning Ltd
University of London
[MUSIC]
In this case study,
we are going to explore the importance of making a really positive first impression.
And then start to consider how this positive first impression can help to
establish, build, and really, really build effective working relationships.
They way in which we're going to that is an example of when Ollie was based
in one place and the he was seconded out to a different part of the world,
in the Indian subcontinent.
So, a completely different environment, completely different set of circumstances.
Completely different workplace culture.
And brand new people to meet.
So, Ollie, how did this particular set of circumstances take place?
What's the background?
>> So, this was part of quite a large system
change that I'd been involved with in
quite a small way in the office I worked in.
And the opportunity arose to go and work with our partners in India.
So, I put my name forward.
I was familiar with the system and how it worked.
I was familiar with how these things tend to roll out, so
I put my hat in the ring and was successful.
So, that meant in a few months from that time,
we called out to both Pune and Delhi for a couple of weeks.
>> So before we- >> [COUGH]
>> Get to the stage where you got
your Visas, you had your injections, and you got ready to board the plane.
Let's just have a look at the workplace relationships as they were
where you were originally working.
Because you were selected to go out to India.
So, what was it specifically about your ability to create effective
relationships in your home site, that made your senior management think
that you would be suitable to go out to India?
>> Yeah.
I'd, I thought, proactively got involved in this change and
I'd proactively helped roll it out.
I'd supported one of the project managers from an operational standpoint.
At the time it was only sort of bits and pieces.
Did the odd brief, just collected some information for him.
And, at the time,
I think I had quite a strong personal brand in the office where I worked.
So, I was thought of as a reliable person who'd be
a good ambassador for the company.
And on that basis got selected.
>> So in the early stages of looking at this
building effective relationship side of things, and moving somebody from
one part of the world to another part of the world for a period of time.
The first platform then upon
which to build is having existing effective relationships.
And what Ollie has shared with us is that they seem to be in place with
the key stakeholders, i.e., those that were going to be involved in deciding who
went out to India >> Ollie kept his profile up,
and a positive profile.
And that was demonstrated by an ability, and a desire, to be involved, and
a regular desire to provide effective support to line management.
So, what happened then as the buildup to going off to India approached?
>> As it happened, I had only come across both of the project managers
in the odd email, so I didn't really know either of them.
>> And they were UK-based or abroad-based?
>> UK-based.
>> Okay. >> The liaison was abroad-based.
So there was a huge amount to do in terms of visas,
injections and all of those sort of things.
So, firstly, it was just email based.
I just emailed both of these guys and said what the deadlines,
just want to understand them all as quickly as possible-
>> So you took the first step?
>> Yeah, just so I can get on the ball and get it sorted.
because whilst it needed a lot of pre-planning, it was also a case
of if you weren't on top of it and you missed it, you wouldn't be going.
>> [LAUGH] So straight away, we have some key factors that are coming into play.
So, proactivity really helps in a situation like that,
because without it you don't go on this secondment.
So that really starts to focus the mind.
Secondly, in terms of helping to build an effective relationship where you don't
know, and have never met some of your key stakeholders, other than electronically.
Usually somebody has to take the initiative.
And in this case Ollie took the initiative by making contact with two of his
key stakeholders, and line managements, and
decision makers by getting the ball rolling.
Demonstrating proactivity and saying right okay, what do we need to do to pre-plan
to make sure that everything is in place before we leave?
So, how well did that work then in terms of building these relationships with these
key stakeholders?
>> Yeah, it went really well.
The long and the short of it is I wanted to get it sorted sort of
sooner rather than later.
And from then, it was just a case of keeping a bit in the loop and
just saying yeah.
I filled in the paperwork.
I've seen my doctor.
There was quite a lot of immunizations and that sort just to get it rolling.
>> [COUGH].
I've got this, I'm all on top of it.
>> So, one of the next key lessons that we're learning in terms of
establishing effective relationships is the importance of keeping,
in this case, Ollie's two key stakeholders up to date and
informed about how managing the key processes is progressing.
So, all the logistics that go on in the background.
Ollie, leading then,again, getting closer to take-off time.
How did you then start to prepare for the new relationships you were going to
have to build when you arrived out in India?
>> I mean, it was all quite exciting, really.
So, you just go with the right attitude.
Just go with sort of the determination to make it a good first impression.
Instilling confidence that you're the person that is going to make it happen,
and go and deliver it.
>> So, I can understand the words, and
I know you delivered it in a way exactly like that
because you were very determined to succeed.
You were absolutely determined to be an ambassador for your UK site.
And you were absolutely determined to over-deliver once you got across to India.
However, we both know from our experience working in different organizations
that not everybody is like that.
>> And what I'm particularly interested to know is what actual skills did you do to
get to that place?
So, I'm perhaps one of your key stakeholders or
somebody you're going to meet out in India.
So you're saying these words to me, which is absolutely what happened.
But what did you do to get me on tight?
To know that you were really up for what you were doing, and
you were going to come across and make the very best of this opportunity?
>> Again, it's just a matter of just instilling confidence in your opposite
number.
So, even things just turning up on time, being prepared, instilling
confidence that you're the person to deliver what needs to be delivered.
because with anything like this, there's a lot of money that goes behind it.
So there will always need to be a return on that money,
you can't just go out there.
You've gotta go, and you've gotta deliver the objectives.
Otherwise the question will be why didn't we just do it via WebEx, or phone call?
So, firm handshakes, you turn up, you're ready to go,
you're on time, you're well presented.
And you come across in such a way that says yeah,
this is the right man for the job.
>> Some really interesting points about building effective
relationships have been illustrated by Ollie here.
So, being driven to make that relationship work has come
across really, really clearly.
Being aware of the responsibilities that you have,
both in terms of the costs that are involved but
actually in your responsibilities as part of that effective relationship.
Actually doing a number of things that are quite simple.
So, preparing beforehand for
any event that's an integral part of that effective relationship.
Really effective time management.
We know that in different parts of the world,
time management has incredibly different applications.
In India, for example, sharp time management is a key part of
demonstrating your intentions in terms of a workplace relationship,
and making that working relationship work well.
How did you measure
the effectiveness of the relationship that you had with your new colleagues?
>> So, there's probably a couple of ways looking at that.
But just to go back a couple of steps.
So, we talked about around the table meetings, so
we talked about my credentials, so that was that.
I guess you need to instill some confidence in your stakeholders.
You also need to deliver it, because at that stage, we are still early on in
our relationship, both with sort of the home based colleagues,
the project managers who were out with us, and with my new colleagues from India.
So, there was a stage of okay, so I actually have to go and
do some of this stuff now that I've said I can do.
And over the course of each week, both in Pune and
Delhi, I made sure that I did what I needed to do,
delivered what I needed to deliver, and did it with a little supervision.
So, aside from the fact that there was the good first impression,
there was also the delivery that has to come with that.
In terms of the relationship, my intention was,
aside from building a good one, because it's always useful to put faces to names.
Because that was a big part of our operation and, in all honesty,
I wanted to do what I needed to do to get asked again.
>> Yeah, absolutely.
>> Because it's such a fantastic opportunity.
And even now I've moved on to a new
job at a different company.
I still enjoy good working relationships with these people now,
and good personal relationships as well, both at home and offshore, which is great.
>> So, we have now a number of other really key aspects of building
effective working relationships that have come to the fore here.
Ollie has mentioned the fact that after you've made that positive first
impression, follow up and
really demonstrating that what you said in those first impressions,
you're going to over-deliver on as that relationship evolves.
And in Ollie's particular sets of circumstances,
there's also been longer term implications as well,
because we've got the situation where the workplace relationships develop very well.
Because Ollie and
his team were able to demonstrate that they could do what they were there for.
So, those initial introductions were reinforced by what actually happened.
But with Ollie now moving on to a different place of work,
we've also got the longer term effects.
And that means those relationships,
they carry on both in a semi-work connection, but
also in a social and friend relationship as well.
Very interesting scenario that we've been exploring here,
because we've looked at different examples both in the UK, across, and India.
About the importance of the initial stages in any relationship, but
in this context as a basis to build an effective working relationship.
Those initial contacts are so important.
And then immediately afterwards what becomes important is the need
to deliver on the basis of those first contacts.
So, what you've said that you're going to do, what part you're going to play in this
effective working relationship, you need to deliver.
And if, as in Ollie's case, you were driven to over deliver as I've
always tried to do in my case as well, then that side works well.
And if a working relationship is two ways it can really blossom, and it can develop.
And that is the ideal.
And in many ways the ideal is also if that effective working relationship
can become more than that.
So, as well as the practical aspects of the importance of building
a positive first impression, going on to build effective working relationships.
Which can be either professional, purely professional,
and/ or professional, and/ or social.
It depends and
we've looked at different examples that start to illustrate those dependencies.
We've also identified Gary Yukl's framework and Cialdini's
framework as being
potential frameworks that you could use and you can apply right the way through,
and at different stages through the scenario that we've heard from Ollie.
So we have a dual benefit from this scenario,
in terms of the pragmatic perspectives that we need to consider.
And also using Yukl's and Cialdini's framework, start to consider
how theory can be applied to very, very real-world situations.
[MUSIC]
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