Relationships Raise ROI I have found that all good things point back to building and maintaining meaningful relationships with a variety of people. [caption id="attachment_229519" align="alignright" width="226"] Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware President Nick Moriello[/caption] Your first network Before you considered your career path, your family, friends, and loved ones were your first network, helping you discover your interests and strengths. They will continue to be an important part of your journey, celebrating successes with you and supporting you through challenges. Mentors and sponsors Mentors give advice, share resources, and help you find direction. Sponsors advocate on your behalf and provide advancement and growth opportunities. Both can help you identify your strengths and shortcomings and how they align with your passions and interests. Both must be handled with intention and care. The leaders around you Whether or not they directly supervise you, have a different ranking than you, or are in your specific business function, developing relationships with those you consider leaders in their respective arenas can provide insight, alliances, and education. The people and teams you lead Cultivating relationships with direct reports and team members is a key component to your success and reputation. Nurturing both the relationship you have with each of them, and the relationships they have with each other, is critical to a high performing team. Considering each person’s personality, strengths, and work style, as related to the whole is a difficult but rewarding part of leadership. Internal collaboration Building relationships within the workplace that are interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, and cross functional can help timelines move efficiently and approaches be implemented more effectively because people are more likely to work well with those they can trust, rely on and have rapport with. External collaboration Building relationships outside the office are equally as important to your ability to deliver outcomes. Regular touchpoints with community and business partners to create strategic alliances are good for business and for you. Yes, your competitors Build rapport with your competitors, always err on the side of professionalism and, at times, know when to concede. You never know how you might be able to help each other, or if you might even be friends in future settings. Bridges are best not burned. The people you serve through your business You are the brand, you are sales – clients aren’t interacting with a business, they interact with you. Maintaining and creating relationships with existing and potential clients that reflect positively on you as a person and you as the business, creates trust and loyalty. The people you serve through your time, talent and resources Having strong ties to the community you work with and live in can help your personal and professional growth. It creates opportunities for you to demonstrate leadership outside the workplace in service to others and can open up doors to future career growth. Those before and those ahead You can only juggle so many meetings, phone calls and emails, so it’s okay if some relationships flourish and fade. Additionally, you should keep a creative and open mind to seeking or accepting new connections, as you never know what good things can come from fresh perspectives. Nick Moriello is the president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware.