I recently read a passage about happiness and relationships that struck me. In it, was stated that the path to happiness in a relationship is about finding someone whom you want to make happy, someone whose happiness is worth devoting yourself to.
I learned from the passage that developing a powerful relationship has little to do with finding yourself, and everything to do with collaboratively becoming new people together, through the relationship.
This passage reminded me about the core values that were in place during my early training at PS where it was expected that we would provide a valued experience for clients and suppliers. This was to be done by authentically caring about others, while proudly committing to service excellence.
I also remember hearing the phrase “be an extension” of your client’s mission, team and business in every way possible. This required collaboration and seeking to understand our clients’ unique needs and nuances in non-technical ways. Aiming to be an extension of the client made me understand that building trust through detailed and thoughtful account management was the best way to develop lasting relationships. To truly be an extension of another company’s business required the courage to lead and learn with each client in a way that matters to them.
It made me happy to build powerful relationships and it still does – devoting myself to helping others experience a better day because of my attentiveness and commitment are so rewarding. Bringing value and support to a client’s challenges and goals builds a powerful bond. Even though I’ve heard countless times: “You can’t make every client happy or satisfied” – this has not and will not stop me from showing up with the goal of being an extension of their success.
So, how can you build more powerful relationships?