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102 It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor

article they said, “Savvy people reach out to kindred spirits outside
of their organization to contribute and multiply their knowledge,
and the information they glean, in more cases than not, becomes the
‘hook’ for making internal connections. Conversely, a person can be
too focused on external relationships and overlook essential internal
relationships that could have a positive impact on her key initiatives
for the company or keep her tuned into the strategic approach and
direction of the company.” Ensuring you have the right balance of
relationships is important so you have the right blend of people to
provide the right support and perspective as opportunities and situ-
ations present themselves.
When I look at corporate leaders I admire, who have good cred-
ibility, leadership ability, and power, I see how they have surrounded
themselves with a diverse and rich pool of people on whom they can
rely. On the way up the ladder, they put time into knowing the smart
and talented people and then worked on creating the right mix of
backgrounds, perspectives, and levels of influence they need in order
to achieve great things.
Carly Fiorina says in her book, Tough Choices (Penguin Group,
2006), that people don’t do business with companies, they do busi-
ness with other people. In other words, at all levels, business is dri-
ven by people. How well executives manage their relationships
directly determines how successful a company will be and how effec-
tive they will be as leaders.
I can also speak to this from personal experience. As I’ve made
my way through my corporate human resources career and later,
through growing a business, I’ve cultivated a diverse and rich blend
of people who have stretched my thinking and challenged my
assumptions. Among them, different people have been crucial advis-
ers and advocates at different stages.
For example, about seven years ago I noticed that my network
hadn’t changed or grown much in a while and that I was due to put