Cultivating Powerful Relationships: For People, a Greater Purpose, and to Preserve the Planet
The world is changing rapidly. We feel it.
The occurrence and impact of global events this past year send a clear message: imperatively, humanity must find better ways to communicate and collaborate to ensure a collective good. Luckily, individual habits can be changed with positive impact. As a result of the pandemic fallout, human activity slowed. During that time, dolphins returned to clear waters in Venice, peacocks explored Dubai, and the air pollution above cities like Wuhan, London, and Los Angeles dropped by up to 30 percent.
At BRMConnect Virtual 2020, relationshipism defined the new triple bottom line of people, purpose, and planet which pervades and supplants the traditional profit-driven bottom line. From this point forward, organizations must operate with an expanded mentality to ensure the stability of a world in which people live in harmony with both nature and machines. The world can be protected through organizations that satisfy a purpose and evolve their culture to drive infinite value through partnering relationships.
The Relationship-Centered Organization optimizes the power of individuals and organizations to contribute to a common good. By empowering individual purpose and connecting people through partnering work relationships, organizations thrive to drive value long into the future.
The upcoming articles in the “Cultivating Powerful Relationships” series will outline strategies you can practice as a part of the solution through answering the pivotal question:
How does business relationship management (BRM) make the world more sustainable, harmonious, and equitable through organizations?
If organizations are defined by the relationships within them, then as BRMs, you evolve organizations through the relationships you cultivate. However, to foster great external relationships, you must first know yourself and look within.
Interpreted literally, venture within to a microscopic level, and look to one of the most basic living organisms for guidance – the simple cell.
Evolve Culture by Emulating Cells
Principally, for a cell to survive and maintain homeostasis – or balance – it must ensure a stable internal environment while constantly adjusting to external influences. Simply, cells stay alive with proper self-maintenance and good external relations. Sound familiar yet?
Zooming out, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. The mere fact that trillions of cells can collaborate in homeostasis for a human lifespan, rather than waging a war of selfish microbes, is remarkable. This collaboration gives rise to the complex system of the human body, which can accomplish infinitely more than the sum of its individual cells.
Likewise, when groups of people collaborate with a shared purpose, an organization in homeostasis emerges. Relationship-Centered Organizations form harmonize with other organizations to work towards a purpose greater than their specific organization. Namely, they exist to support the largest living system of which we are all members – Earth. For example, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) unites over 250 organizations in 35 countries with a shared purpose, “to mitigate the environmentally damaging effects of the globalized apparel industry.”
Despite massive current initiatives, more needs to be done. If we as individuals, the cells of the earth, cannot maintain homeostasis, the entire system will collapse, and its individual cells will perish. However, every organization already possesses the means to prevent such collapse through an empowered BRM capability. BRM drives a collaborative network of purpose-driven leaders who share ownership of organizational strategy and results.
Improve Your Relationships with a BRM Capability
Returning once more to the cellular level, cells thrive through meaning (purpose) and sociability (relationships). Each organelle within a cell performs a specific function, which works harmoniously to give the cell a purpose. When each purposeful cell forms strong relationships, a collaborative system results where everyone cares for the individuals around them. Cells, as do humans, depend upon one another for survival.
“It is because our own human existence is so dependent on the help of others that our need for love lies at the very foundation of our existence. Therefore, we need a genuine sense of responsibility and a sincere concern for the welfare of others.” –the Dalai Lama
The quote from the Dalai Lama describes the foundation of compassion, a cultivated tool that combines reason and emotion to benefit others. In turn, this desire to help gives people energy and purpose, which creates a virtuous cycle.
Understandably, developing profound compassion to evolve an entire organization is not easy, as the Dalai Lama readily admits.
Now, more than ever, organizations are called to serve a greater purpose, which starts by cultivating the relationships within them. Here, a BRM capability delicately bridges the gap between shared purpose and compassionate relationships.
This series will share the foundational BRM knowledge, tools, and exercises you need to drive a culture of powerful relationships to ultimately generate infinite value. As a tangible exercise to start building partnerships with authenticity, learn how to improve your self-awareness.
Remember, through patience, focus, and time, all things are possible.
Check out the second article in the “Cultivating Powerful Relationships” series…
