Intermediate Books

Chapter 10: Building Your Alliance Network

In the first 60 days, your focus was necessarily internal: understanding your role, aligning with your manager, and delivering a win within your immediate team. In the final 30 days of your initial campaign, it is time to look outward.

No significant work in any organization is done by a single person or a single team. Success depends on a network of relationships that cross departmental and hierarchical lines. Your final mission in the first 90 days is to begin deliberately building this alliance network.

Moving Beyond Your Silo

Your early win gives you a reason to engage with people outside your team. The project likely had stakeholders, collaborators, or “customers” in other parts of the company. These people are the first nodes in your new network.

Your goal is to transform these transactional relationships into something more durable.

Techniques for Building Alliances:

  1. The “Thank You” Tour: After your project is complete, make a point of visiting or scheduling a brief call with everyone who helped you. Thank them for their contribution and, more importantly, ask them about their own work.
    • Key Questions: “What are the biggest challenges your team is facing right now?” “What are your main priorities for this quarter?”
    • The Purpose: You are gathering intelligence and, more importantly, you are signaling that you see them as valuable colleagues, not just as resources for your own projects.
  2. Offer Help Before You Ask for It: The fastest way to build a strong alliance is to be genuinely helpful. Based on the intelligence you gathered on your “Thank You” tour, look for a small, low-effort way to help someone in another department.
    • Examples: Forwarding a relevant article, making an introduction to someone you know, or offering a few minutes to explain a concept from your area of expertise.
    • The Principle of Reciprocity: This creates a “bank” of goodwill. When you eventually need help from that person or their team, they will be far more likely to respond positively.
  3. Map the Organization:
    • Go back to your analysis of informal power. Who are the key influencers and decision-makers in the departments that are most critical to your success?
    • Find a reason to have a brief, introductory meeting with them. You can ask your manager for an introduction.
    • The Goal: The goal of this first meeting is not to ask for anything. It is simply to introduce yourself, state your Personal Mandate, and ask them about their role and their team’s priorities. You are putting yourself on their radar in a positive and professional way.

From Employee to Citizen

Building an alliance network is the final step in your transition from a new employee to a fully integrated organizational citizen. You are no longer just a name in a box on an org chart. You are a known, trusted, and credible partner who understands the broader context of the business.

This network is your professional safety net. It is your source of information, your early warning system for political shifts, and your support system for future projects. By deliberately building it in your first 90 days, you are making a long-term investment in your own effectiveness and career resilience.