Attitudes are our mental perspectives of things/life. They become our filter through which all our experiences are channelled. Some of our attitudes can be very helpful while others are less so. It is our attitude, to the relationship that determines the behaviour we use and so affects the ultimate result.
The purpose of this exercise is to challenge your attitude towards your business partner. Make sure you keep an open mind and give yourself honest answers. Of course, it would be much better to do this as a team, but you may like to have a go first on your own!
The questions which follow are arranged around the key themes we expect to see in all great business relationships.
Questions to challenge your attitude…
Trust and Credibility
- How open is your mind to the views of others?
- How genuine is your concern for other people?
- What do you do to encourage openness and honesty?
- Has the breadth and depth of engagement increased with time?
- How readily do you follow through on actions or agreements?
- How much time are you prepared to give to fostering good relationships?
Communication and Influence
- How much influence do you feel you have in the relationship?
- How easy do you find it to identify the key influencers in meetings?
- What do you do to try and build consensus in your relationship?
- How adaptable are you to different people?
- How effective are you at getting your message across?
- How well listened to do you feel?
- Do you have all the opportunities you need to contribute to the relationship dialogue?
- How clearly do you communicate your objectives?
- What could you do differently to further enhance the communication within the relationship?
- What needs to happen for new insights and knowledge to be shared more freely?
Problem Solving and Conflict Resolution
- How positively do you approach problems that you encounter in the relationship?
- What measures do you take once you are aware of an issue arising?
- How involved in problem solving is your supplier?
- How much energy do you give to a matter that you perceive to come from the ‘other side’?
- How committed are you to nurturing the supplier relationship?
- How willing are you to take responsibility for being a part of a conflict?
- What negative responses do you find in yourself when faced with conflict?
- What key strengths do you have that could be used in managing conflict more effectively?
- How could you use more of these key strengths?
- How do you handle difficulties?
- What is your key strength in problem solving?
So What?
- What attitudes do you need to adopt to maximize your supplier relationship?
- What practical changes do you need to make to demonstrate these attitudes in your supplier relationship?
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