We just finished our initial client facing presentation. For someone who dreads presenting, I do pretty well with presentations. I enjoy the adrenaline rush. Frightening.
What I learned from the experience (in particular, the debrief conversation afterward) is that relationships matter. Clearly this is a cliché. But, there’s truth to it. Isn’t half (if not more) of business, the relationship dynamic? As a Resolution Manager, it could be argued my whole job is to maintain, salvage and repair business relationships under adverse circumstances. Preparing an RFP is establishing a different type of relationship. What is this company’s need? How can my team/company meet their need? What do I need to communicate to my client to let them know I am a trusted business partner? There is definitely a need to listen attentively, stay open and read all cues.
Relationships also matter in teaching. For better or worse as teachers in an institution (school, university, workplace) we represent the larger institutions for whom we work. We often walk into a teaching / training environment hoping that students will see us as the type of instructor we want to be. However, students have their own ideas about the institution and the the authority instructors represent. A student’s feelings about an institution and the role of authority can drive a student’s reaction to instruction. Establishing personal relationships is one way to reposition oneself within the traditional teacher-student paradigm. [Though this reminds me of arguments from cultural studies that would claim there is no way, within the system, to disassociate from the authority of the system. All attempts at relationships are mitigating, or attempts at softening what is ultimately an authority structure. --How did I start positive and end in a power paradigm?!] What I mean to highlight by bringing in relationships with respect to teaching, is that one aspect of instruction that students respond to is personal relationships. The personal interest that a teacher / instructor takes in a student can provide motivation for learning. You don’t hear these stories so often in the corporate world, but I know personal relationships were a motivating factor for some of my high school students and adult language learners.
In sum, relationships matter for efficacy in both business and teaching.
I’m engaged in a bidding war with my classmates for a corporate