By Lucy Grimwade & Georgie Otubela
March 19, 2025
Cultivating great relationships and building your network, in my opinion, is your magic key to the many doors of your career and its success.
In truth, no matter your industry, you are bound to bump into someone who you have crossed paths with before, and you never know who you may need to lean on in the future. By building a strong network with lasting relationships you will start to build your personal brand, gain contacts and resources as well as forming the part of an evolution, to you becoming a-go-to person.
Relationships are about trust, curiosity and being connected. Whether you are nurturing the needs of a client, searching for a mentor or building a working relationship with your team, it is essential to career success to have the ability and interpersonal skills to form a community.
Here are 6 ways you can start to create great relationships which will build and enrich your network.
1) Make it personal
‘Did you have a good time away in France?’ – Remembering details about someone, shows that you have listened, are generally interested, and it also makes them feel good. Frame the question so they can simply answer yes or no, but leaves them wriggle room to expand if they want to. And, if you don’t have an elephant-type memory, then write it down in your notebook, or in a separate meeting invite, right next to the scheduled one. You don’t have to be personal in every interaction, but often enough to start to build their trust.
2) Listen more, speak less
It is only natural that we want to wade in with an answer, to give advice or to throw our opinions into the mix. However, have you fully grasped what they are asking you? Here are three coaching questions you can use, to gather what is being asked:
- … And what else?
- What do you think, you need to do?
- How can I help?
By listening more and understanding your audience, you are starting to build compassion, and aiding towards an answer, which is a great foundation for a reliable and resourceful relationship.
3) Understand your Capacity
Back in my early career, a senior manager taught me the motto of “never over promise then under-deliver.”
It is frustrating and disappointing when you have someone who says YES to everything, to only let you down at the last minute. That behaviour doesn’t spark confidence in another human, thus the likelihood of building a great relationship is doubtful.
However, someone understanding their capacity and offering a solution will give a great belief, trust and service. By politely saying – ‘Gosh, I don’t have the capacity right now to take that on, however if it isn’t too urgent, I could do that next week/month/year?’ OR ‘I can’t do that right now, however, let me put you in touch with someone who I know has the capacity and will help you.’ Someone who is well-connected is a great ally to have!
Make sure that’s you.
4) Always Follow up
I was brought up with the notion to write a thank you note, after Birthdays, Christmases, sleepovers… and it is a habit that we can implement into our career world. Following up after a meeting, interview, networking event, etc, not only puts your name at the top but also shows a level of aptitude, kindness and interest. It doesn’t have to be war and peace, but a few sentences will suffice.
How many inbox/DMs do you get? I know, mostly they are sale pitches, and you just want to ignore them. However, make it part of your brand to reply. My go-to line is – “Thank you for thinking of me, but your service <insert here> isn’t something I need right now. All the best.”
5) Don’t Push your Boundaries
You may have a great relationship with your boss or a business connection, but make sure you read the room. Don’t become a hassle who is constantly messaging and asking questions – (often people do this to just spark up conversations). Learn where the line is, don’t cross it, unless invited over.
6) Share your Knowledge
Being a secret squirrel, is thing of the past. I used to work with someone who was so cryptic, and they never uploaded their documentation to our shared areas. As you can imagine, it didn’t land too well with the team or the business. People like to be in the know. They like to learn from others. Feed their curiosity.
You can be the judge of the knowledge that you give, but by giving nothing away, you are closing yourself off, thus, potentially closing career doors.
Building lasting business relationships start to develop with dedication and consistent work. Remember to be authentic and respectful: be who you are and accept others as they are.
Lucy Grimwade leans into the future of work, positioning herself with a diverse portfolio career across the theme of Change and Transformation. She is a consultant, qualified coach, mentor, author as well as an experienced trainer and public speaker — providing guidance and skills for groups and individuals on subjects that include (but not limited to) change management, career development and personal &/ business transformation. Lucy’s passion and purpose in life is to help other people to reimagine their possibilities.
Connect with Lucy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucygrimwade/
Georgina Otubela is a seasoned service delivery leader with 18 years of experience working in the IT Services industry. She has a technical background specialising in IT support and infrastructure support roles before pursuing a career in service management and leadership within the financial, media and gaming sectors in the UK. She has a genuine passion for delivering exceptional service and developing high performing teams, empowering them to achieve their goals through dedicated leadership and mentoring.
Georgina is an ITIL 4 Managing Professional as well as a Prince 2 & Prince2 Agile Practitioner. She is also a committee member of the British Standards Institute (BSI) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO), having recently contributed as a panel member as part of the ISO IT Service Management Standard Community discussing future proofing and enthusing future generations in Service Management.
Georgina is a STEM ambassador working with schools within the UK to promote and encourage young people considering careers within the technology and service management sector. She is also a Women in Tech advocate and mentor. You can connect with Georgina through https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgina-otubela/
