
164 brilliant leader
Building and managing relationships
A good friend of mine is fond of saying that his whole working
life revolves around having effective and meaningful conversa-
tions. He has only a small team of direct reports but is seen
within his organisation as a key leader, which comes from his
skill at building and managing relationships.
Networking
You are probably familiar with the expression ‘It’s not what you
know but who you know’ – and this is very true when it comes to
leading without having direct reports. The level of inuence you
can command is only likely to be as good as the strength of your
network. Do you spend all da