How and Why to Land a BRM Role
Whether you aspire to be an educator, a clergyperson, or an entrepreneur, when your career is aligned with your purpose, it equips you to uniquely solve specific world problems. You pursue your goals with gusto and move with intention towards a satisfying life, both personally and professionally. Occasionally, you’ll encounter professionals within a specific career track who frequently share the great impact they make every day.
Business Relationship Management (BRM) is one of those careers.
Every organization has a BRM Capability. Moreover, every organization on the planet can bring BRM to life within a team or across the enterprise, both visible and behind the scenes. The individual or team that drives collaboration and a culture of creativity, innovation, and value reflective of business strategy; that is the BRM role and capability in action.
BRM is everywhere. For this reason, we interviewed and compiled advice from BRMs across all varieties of experience, industries, and team sizes within our single, global community. We asked them why someone should aspire to become a BRM and how to go about pursuing a career in BRM.
What advice would you give someone who is just starting to consider this professional career path?
- Consider your level of familiarity with yourself and your ability to establish real, trusting relationships. People can spot your integrity and authenticity right away. How self-aware are you? A BRM role is a very authentic role. It’s really important to live with integrity, both professionally and personally in order to build long-lasting and trusting relationships.
- Join the BRM Institute and make friends with some of these BRM legends! They have invaluable You owe it to yourself.
- Don’t worry, no one knows where life will take you. The patchwork career is more fun, and gives you a wider skill set. Learn constantly and invest in yourself. Always build relationships, collaborate and don’t fear kicking over the apple cart; it’s how the future is made.
- Your ability to work with people will always get you further. Always listen. Keep your area (i.e. IT, HR, Finance, etc.) focused on the core values of the organization, rather than only on siloed priorities.
What is a good starting point for individuals who wish to build the BRM discipline in their professional lives?
How and why should professionals seek out BRM as a title with a company, or transition to this role within their current organization?
- Immediately invest time to explore different facets of the organization you haven’t been exposed to or privy to, and get to know people on an individual level. BRM is everywhere – it’s relationships.
- To get a great start and strong foundation, it’s vital to have the right mindset and personal focus. Change isn’t easy, but the BRM is a change-bringer role that will touch every aspect of the business, bringing them together around the organization’s shared purpose. You must believe in yourself.
- You need to determine the purpose and mission you wish to achieve in life, as well as adopt a convergence mindset.
- The most common and concerning issues today are poor communication and value-depleting silos.
- Start with small and quick wins. To be more strategic you have to build upon your tactical capabilities.
Most CEOs’ and VPs’ biggest problem is “herding the cats”, or trying to unite all aspects of the business. BRM Solves for this issue by bringing everyone together as one with a shared vision, strategy and purpose. This is the selling point of BRM. Adopt the mindset of connecting these areas that are disjointed and begin thinking about how this concerted effort will essentially “sell the role” to your leadership.
When considering a new opportunity, practical advice from other BRM leaders is truly invaluable. Just as important, however, is to begin with the end in mind. As you reflect on what progress you hope to achieve, look to the trailblazers leading the way.
Marshall Berkin, VP of Customer Relationship and Solutions Management with TELUS, shared his organization’s progression of BRM and its tangible results at BRMConnect 2019.
Additionally, CIO with SMUD, Stephen Clemons, recently participated in a high-level case study of how BRM transformed IT from siloed service provider to a converged strategic partner.
What has been the most impactful to you in your BRM journey?
- BRM Benchmarking. You can’t be it if you can’t see it. That’s why BRM Institute and this community are so important; as is the sharing of the continued benefit and successes of the BRM role.
- I’m not alone…The BRM family is wide and vast on the global level.
- It’s always good to look up to those you admire. There are other BRMs whose success I’d love to achieve- it’s motivating!
- The Strategic Relationship plan reinforced the understanding that our biggest resource is “value” – I’ve learned through BRM Institute that there are different tiers of value, such as “functional value”. Societal impact value is the highest form of value.
“My BRM journey has been eye-opening; the most memorable experience professionally and personally to date. I’ve grown as a mother, wife, and professional. You view life in a different way as a BRM. I know what my purpose is now through this process. I have mindfulness and awareness, which I was, sadly, really lacking before. It’s all about learning about yourself.
Through BRM Institute’s certification, you do learn many practical tools, processes and templates to apply in an organization, and in your profession. Ultimately, when you go through BRM as a journey, you transform as a person. That’s the biggest takeaway I’ve experienced. Over the last few years, I’ve connected with some of the most amazing, real people I’ve ever met in my life. I continue to invest my time in the BRM community, hands down, for the people and relationships.”
– Sarah Ozahioglu, Senior Strategy Manager with TELUS, CBRM, and BRM Institute Board Director Secretary.
Ultimately, you have the power to shape your reality. Consider where you want to be one year, five years, or 20 years from now if you begin your BRM journey today.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
-African proverb
The single, global BRM community believes in and celebrates the power of relationships to improve connection, satisfy purpose, and drive value individually and organizationally. Become a member of our BRM community as we go far together!
