Relationships have been, are now and will continue to be the backbone of organizational productivity. The interdependent nature of people, processes, productivity and profit tends to drive the level and degree of interactions. We function at a time when the (to me) oxymoronic term "remote teams" has been elevated into the corporate lexicon, altered the landscape and managed to shift the focus so as to highlight other ways of recognizing and understanding the dynamics of internal relationships. If we accept the fact that change is, primarily, responsible for any alternate focus on traditional activities, then the recognition of supportive roles is a factor for consideration in career progression.
It is a rare model of individual engagement that does not mention the elements of trust, roles and relationships as critical to the consistency of successful outcomes. Organizations are composed of parts; those parts are held together by structure, and the structure is supported by interdependent roles. While the traditionally held roles of colleague, supervisor and rival still hold true when looking at it through the lens of "role function," when seen through the broader lens of "supportive interactions," the roles take on different labels and meaning for achieving successful outcomes. When internal relationships are measured along a continuum of low trust to high trust, what emerges is a unique set of roles that vary in commitment to a person’s success.
This new framework of role-based team/individual success is based on an anecdotal compilation of questions and concerns generated from coaching conversations first brought to the attention of human resource and organizational leaders by consulting colleague Cassandra Harvey as she worked with several women leaders to draw out many of their concerns for achieving success within their careers and organizations.
On the high end of trust is the Ally, an organizational member who understands what is being accomplished and recognizes that you have a skill/mindset that is committed to success. They are willing to be seen as an integral part of your career without questioning your motivation and align with the values that make you who you are.
Slightly lower on the high trust end is the Advocate, an organizational member who also recognizes the commitment of your skill and mindset. While not being completely aligned, they are willing to be your voice in the room "where it happened."
Moving toward the middle trust continuum is the Asset, an organizational member whose unique set of skills are available to you as projects bog down, log jams occur and barriers need to be removed. Working within a framework of helping, they don't mind assisting in your success as long as it does not impede their own career progression.
Hovering in the middle of the continuum is the Affiliate, an organizational member who shares similar interests and recognizes the networking capability of the relationship.
Further down on the continuum is the Adversary, an organizational member who recognizes the competitive threat you pose to their career. In a classic win/lose outcome, the emphasis is not on preserving the relationship but ensuring that the relationship is seen in a lesser light. They understand that there are fewer positions of power and authority as one ascends the career ladder, and when comparing apples to apples, the goal is to make sure they are the apple that is picked ahead of you.
The farthest end of the continuum is held by the Antagonist, an organizational member who maintains an overwhelming concern that you are more than they are and, as a result of that perception, spends the majority of their time making sure that your career stalls and, hopefully, derails. It is the unfiltered belief that their own success has to come at your failure. Unlike the Adversary, who is driven by the won/loss column, the Antagonist can only see you as a column of losses in which they clearly had a hand.
The evolving clarity of Harvey's "Supportive ‘A’s’" framework can be seen in the larger organizational light of day. The meaningfulness of these new roles within teams becomes even greater when applied to an individual pursuit of career success. It is a commonly held notion that career progression requires more than a willing heart, expanding skill base and a portfolio of credentials. Support comes in many ways, from many directions and with a slight degree of luck. The element that moves progress away from stagnation is the ability to recognize who represents what "A" is in your supportive framework.
Most coaches who work with their clients on strengthening their relationship-building skills would agree that beyond the traditional "who you know" career advancement mantra, there is the ever-looming and evolving, "Who knows you enough to care?" Trust is an important part of caring, and caring is foundational to relationship-building. In a rapid-paced business cycle in which time shrinks to accommodate expanding activities, the need for organizational support becomes paramount when assessing who is in your corner. The degree of support given is dependent on the strength of relationships in which there is no equal distribution of time, thereby dictating the strategic use of that resource.