WEBVTT 00:00:15.050 --> 00:00:18.050 Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building 00:00:18.050 --> 00:00:21.289 Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael 00:00:21.289 --> 00:00:23.890 Foreman, and today we're diving into something 00:00:23.890 --> 00:00:27.329 that separates good teams from game -changing 00:00:27.329 --> 00:00:30.769 ones. The best -performing teams don't operate 00:00:30.769 --> 00:00:33.770 in a bubble. They're connected. They're connected 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:37.009 to their clients, to the other teams, to strategic 00:00:37.009 --> 00:00:41.250 partners, and that connection is where the real 00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:45.609 magic and the real profit happens. My guest today 00:00:45.609 --> 00:00:50.229 knows this better than anyone. She believes external 00:00:50.229 --> 00:00:54.670 collaboration isn't just a nice to have, it's 00:00:54.670 --> 00:00:59.450 a business advantage. We're talking about how 00:00:59.450 --> 00:01:02.909 building bridges outside your organization can 00:01:02.909 --> 00:01:07.670 accelerate innovation, amplify influence, and 00:01:07.670 --> 00:01:11.969 open doors you didn't even know existed. So whether 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:14.959 you're leading a team, building a business, or 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:18.260 just trying to expand your impact, buckle up, 00:01:18.260 --> 00:01:21.620 Buttercup, because this conversation is to reshape 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:25.459 how you think about connection, collaboration, 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:29.260 and the power of what happens beyond your bubble. 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.609 So let's get into it. I would like to welcome 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:36.469 to the podcast today, Daria Rudnick. She is a 00:01:36.469 --> 00:01:39.189 professional in everything that I just read. 00:01:39.730 --> 00:01:42.629 Daria, welcome to the podcast and give us a little 00:01:42.629 --> 00:01:44.609 bit of your background and how you got here today. 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:48.069 Thanks, Michael. First of all, it's great to 00:01:48.069 --> 00:01:50.069 be here. I'm happy to share my knowledge with 00:01:50.069 --> 00:01:52.170 your audience. So it's amazing. Thanks for having 00:01:52.170 --> 00:01:54.890 me here. A few words about myself and my background. 00:01:55.049 --> 00:01:57.370 My name is Daria Rudnik. I started my career 00:01:57.370 --> 00:02:00.250 in Deloitte and then I moved up, worked up to 00:02:00.250 --> 00:02:02.230 chief people officer for mostly tech and telecom 00:02:02.230 --> 00:02:04.909 companies. And during these times, I've done 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:07.870 lots of corporate stuff like mergers and acquisitions, 00:02:07.969 --> 00:02:09.949 setting up offices in other countries, cultural 00:02:09.949 --> 00:02:13.550 transformations. And what I've seen through those 00:02:13.550 --> 00:02:17.800 experiences is how... how crucial it is for businesses 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.759 to have strong, empowered, well -connected teams. 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.000 Because these teams can lead transformations 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:28.360 while organizations that don't have that team, 00:02:28.419 --> 00:02:31.080 they fail those transformations. So that's why 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.699 I focus my work on helping leaders build amazing, 00:02:33.939 --> 00:02:36.240 self -sufficient, high -performing teams that 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.319 are well -connected within organizations, that 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.960 are connected within themselves, and that can 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:46.310 drive real organizational value. That's beautiful. 00:02:46.490 --> 00:02:49.710 That's beautiful. Okay. So I developed about 00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:52.889 10 questions and I'm going to ask you and you 00:02:52.889 --> 00:02:55.409 answer them. And if we happen to stray a little 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:57.569 bit, we stray a little bit. I have 10 questions 00:02:57.569 --> 00:03:01.689 for you. You say the best performing teams don't 00:03:01.689 --> 00:03:05.169 operate in a bubble. What are the biggest warning 00:03:05.169 --> 00:03:12.939 signs that a team is one? and how leaders can 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:18.139 burst before it limits growth. I'll share a story 00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:22.060 with you. And it's a story about the cybersecurity 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:25.840 team in a cloud computing company. It was a very 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.159 strong team. The employees, the team members 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.360 were experts. And the leader... was very well 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:34.560 intentional she wanted to be a good leader she 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:36.659 wanted to support her team members she wanted 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:40.000 them to grow she had regular one -to -ones she 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.300 had regular conversations with her team members 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:46.840 but she also wanted to protect them from troubles 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.099 that the corporate world has so what she did 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:52.159 is she was the kind of the spokesperson and she 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.629 was the main contact for all like for all organization. 00:03:56.990 --> 00:03:59.789 And she was handling all the questions, all the 00:03:59.789 --> 00:04:02.550 requests, all the mistakes that her team might 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:05.229 be making, everything. She was handling everything. 00:04:05.349 --> 00:04:07.210 And she was kind of, she thought she's protecting 00:04:07.210 --> 00:04:11.949 her team members from troubles. But what happened 00:04:11.949 --> 00:04:16.129 is during the engagement survey, we saw that 00:04:16.129 --> 00:04:19.170 the team was disengaged. They were getting bored, 00:04:19.490 --> 00:04:21.769 they were becoming unmotivated, and she didn't 00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:24.990 understand why. But once we figured out that 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:28.509 she was connected with everyone in the organizations, 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:31.149 while they were connected only to themselves 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:34.970 and her and didn't have this kind of clear vision 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:37.389 of what are they doing, how their work impacts 00:04:37.389 --> 00:04:39.670 the organization, they were not connected to 00:04:39.670 --> 00:04:42.589 other team members, that actually caused a disengagement 00:04:42.589 --> 00:04:45.949 and drop of motivation. And once she connected 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:48.829 them, like proactively led them and introduced 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:52.970 them to other stakeholders, people, that actually 00:04:52.970 --> 00:04:56.389 used the results of their work, that brought 00:04:56.389 --> 00:04:58.870 the motivation and engagement back. That made 00:04:58.870 --> 00:05:02.829 teams stronger. That made them an accent of expertise 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:05.129 for the whole organizations in cybersecurity. 00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:09.149 So that's the power of connections. Leaders always 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:11.850 need to be connectors and connect their team 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.649 members to organizations rather than them being 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:18.720 the spokesperson for the team. That's true. And 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:22.560 being a true leader, when you take all the questions, 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:25.600 take all the problems, all on yourself, on your 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:29.019 own shoulders, A, that will bog you down from 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:31.779 doing all of your work, but you don't give your 00:05:31.779 --> 00:05:35.019 people any responsibility, anything to connect 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:37.759 with. And that's where I think her problem was. 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:42.399 So once she let a little of that go, saw that 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.680 there's a lot more interactivity between everybody 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.769 and everybody wasn't as bored. So that was pretty 00:05:47.769 --> 00:05:52.470 good. Okay. So in your experience, what's the 00:05:52.470 --> 00:05:55.149 difference between networking for opportunity 00:05:55.149 --> 00:05:59.930 and collaborating for impact? Where do most professionals 00:05:59.930 --> 00:06:04.930 go wrong in that balance? Oh, wow. That's a very 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:07.889 interesting question. When you collaborate for 00:06:07.889 --> 00:06:10.490 value, that's the opportunity you have. It's 00:06:10.490 --> 00:06:12.870 always networking for opportunity. And the question 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:15.120 is, Like, what is the opportunity? What do you 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:16.720 mean by opportunity? Is it something that you 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.879 want to gain or something that you want to co 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:20.779 -create? And when it's something you want to 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:24.139 gain, it is always visible to others. They're 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:25.740 not getting anything from you. But when it's 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.439 something about co -creation and like bringing 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:31.379 the real value that makes people want to join 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:34.160 you in your journey. And again, same thing happens 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.680 in the organizations. When you go, when there 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:39.079 was a lot of this silos in the organization where 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:43.040 different departments compete with each other 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.680 so what they do they reach out to senior leaders 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.600 for networking because it's like everybody says 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.139 you need to network with senior leaders so they 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:53.899 try to catch them for coffee they ask for some 00:06:55.050 --> 00:06:58.290 Questions that might not have any value for anyone. 00:06:58.449 --> 00:07:01.269 And that's visible. People see that. But when 00:07:01.269 --> 00:07:03.509 you go out to, again, to senior leaders and you 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:05.750 network with your stakeholders and you bring 00:07:05.750 --> 00:07:08.769 something that they need, you ask questions first 00:07:08.769 --> 00:07:11.050 and then you bring something that they need. 00:07:11.389 --> 00:07:14.050 That's what helps you in your career. That will 00:07:14.050 --> 00:07:16.350 make you connect in the organization. And that 00:07:16.350 --> 00:07:19.110 was recognized as, OK, this person wants to create 00:07:19.110 --> 00:07:21.170 impact. They ask questions because they want 00:07:21.170 --> 00:07:25.550 to know what I need rather than just. being showing 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:30.310 up their faces to to be remembered and that's 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:32.730 really what i'm all about all the networking 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:36.430 but i always say you have to network strategically 00:07:36.430 --> 00:07:39.930 you can't just be like a shotgun shell and just 00:07:39.930 --> 00:07:42.730 go everywhere you have to be strategic and when 00:07:42.730 --> 00:07:44.850 you're meeting with somebody you have to bring 00:07:44.850 --> 00:07:47.990 a certain amount of value with that meeting otherwise 00:07:47.990 --> 00:07:51.050 it's just a meeting and coffee and you have a 00:07:51.050 --> 00:07:53.899 good time and you say goodbye So that strategic 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:58.519 networking, I think, is where collaborating for 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:03.420 impact really comes in. If I can just jump in, 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:05.639 because what I write about, I like the strategic 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.040 approach. And here is in my book, I have actually 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.439 a chart that helps leaders create well -connected 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.410 teams. based on the goal that they want to reach. 00:08:14.569 --> 00:08:16.850 So it's the first thing you want to try to understand 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:19.089 the team purpose. So team purpose happens in 00:08:19.089 --> 00:08:21.170 the first. And when you know the team purpose, 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:24.310 then you write down all the stakeholders. And 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:26.649 then you write down, okay, who on your team? 00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:30.089 is connected or can easily be connected with 00:08:30.089 --> 00:08:32.850 stakeholders. And those team members reach out 00:08:32.850 --> 00:08:35.389 to the stakeholders. Not the senior person on 00:08:35.389 --> 00:08:37.809 the team goes to the senior stakeholder, but 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:40.070 the ones who already have some sort of relationships 00:08:40.070 --> 00:08:42.809 or the one who can bring real value to those 00:08:42.809 --> 00:08:45.429 stakeholders. They are the ones that go and build 00:08:45.429 --> 00:08:47.970 those connections. So when we talk about team 00:08:47.970 --> 00:08:50.789 networking, again, it's a strategic. You actually 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:54.389 need to map it out, map your team purpose, all 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:57.629 the connections you already have. who on your 00:08:57.629 --> 00:09:00.210 team can make what kind of connections with the 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:02.769 stakeholders and that's make it more effective. 00:09:03.889 --> 00:09:06.710 Absolutely. Very good. Very good. And I'm glad 00:09:06.710 --> 00:09:09.549 you brought the chart out from your book. External 00:09:09.549 --> 00:09:13.190 collaboration sounds great in theory, but it 00:09:13.190 --> 00:09:16.289 often collides with ego control or corporate 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:19.210 silos, what you just talked about. What's the 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:21.769 most effective way to break those walls without 00:09:21.769 --> 00:09:25.809 breaking relationships? While breaking the walls, 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:27.909 you're actually building those relations. When 00:09:27.909 --> 00:09:30.309 we say like external collaborations outside of 00:09:30.309 --> 00:09:32.990 your team is actually going out there and trying 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:35.049 to understand how I can create value for the 00:09:35.049 --> 00:09:37.649 other team. And it might sound strange at first 00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:40.070 because, okay, why would I create value for the 00:09:40.070 --> 00:09:42.669 team when I need to create value for my boss 00:09:42.669 --> 00:09:45.409 so that the boss, my boss sees me and gives me 00:09:45.409 --> 00:09:48.470 more budget, more benefits, promotion and things 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:52.240 like that. But when we look at the business perspective 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.539 and what executives really want, they want to 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:58.000 see collaboration. They want to see people connecting 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.820 with each other. And when they see someone who 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:03.419 is not only bringing the solution and promoting 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:05.799 themselves and promoting their teams, but when 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:08.899 they see someone who can connect other departments 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:12.700 and create value out of those connections. They 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:14.980 recognize that as a main asset for the organization 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:18.059 because this person is a connector and executives 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.559 want to see connectors, more connectors on the 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:23.519 organizations rather than those who can create 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.059 something individually and bring it on to the 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:30.919 top. Yes, absolutely. And the leaders look for 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:34.519 that collaboration. Listen, they still want their 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:40.279 individual employees to try to achieve. More 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.399 than what they've achieved last year, right? 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:44.899 So they really want them to go out and do the 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:47.840 best, but they also want them to collaborate 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:51.200 because together they might be even stronger. 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:56.340 So it's always there. So yes, very good. Can 00:10:56.340 --> 00:11:00.299 you share an example where an unexpected partnership, 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:04.399 maybe even one outside your industry, completely 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:08.779 changed the trajectory of a project or business? 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.980 This wasn't exactly like outside of my industry, 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.399 but I once was coaching a leader and he wanted 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:20.279 to be a go -to person in AI implementation within 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:23.480 the company. But the company is very silent in 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:27.820 businesses they're running. So the thing is that 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:29.679 the problem is and the challenge that this person 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:33.419 had is... how he can reach out to all of those 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:36.820 silent other organizations and be this go -to 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:40.139 person for AI when he has no authority over that. 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:44.000 No one introduced him to that. He's not a leader, 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:47.519 like officially leader to do that. So what he 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:50.779 did is he did... He just reached out to those 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:53.860 people, asked them what they want, asked them 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:56.519 how they're solving their AI challenges right 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.019 now, and started to build those connections, 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:02.899 not only between himself and this person, but 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.360 he also started to connect those business units 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.419 between each other so that they could share the 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:10.940 benefits of how they use AI for their businesses. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.200 And again, as I mentioned, that was the reason 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:17.519 and the... The thing that he brought to his leaders, 00:12:17.659 --> 00:12:20.580 sharing that I am the one who can connect all 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.600 those team members. I can do, I'm the one who 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:25.000 can connect those people. And I really want to 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.120 be the AI leader for the whole organization because 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:30.320 I am the connector. So it might be very challenging 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:33.779 to reach out to someone like outside of your 00:12:33.779 --> 00:12:36.659 zone, of your comfort zone, outside of your network. 00:12:37.139 --> 00:12:41.710 But like making this step. is actually what can 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:44.750 bring the real value. So going out there, talking 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.009 to people you don't know who are outside of your 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:50.169 reach, even if you don't have official authority 00:12:50.169 --> 00:12:52.429 to do that, just have a regular conversation. 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:56.990 That works. Yes. Networking is so important. 00:12:57.129 --> 00:13:00.730 I feel that networking is the base of all. businesses 00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:04.509 and we're fusing because ai is like the buzzword 00:13:04.509 --> 00:13:09.370 right so ai and networking come together i have 00:13:09.370 --> 00:13:12.970 actually a networking group that i fused the 00:13:12.970 --> 00:13:17.649 ai and networking together and i tell you how 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:21.009 to reach out through ai but you can't forget 00:13:21.009 --> 00:13:24.820 about your networking But the way that this person 00:13:24.820 --> 00:13:28.080 had done it, he reached out networking -wise. 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:30.960 It's all about AI. But he reached out networking, 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:34.460 and he brought value to everybody he was reaching 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:36.980 out to because he was answering their questions. 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:42.179 So unofficially, he was the leader. And so when 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:44.679 he went to the bosses, he said, look, I'm not 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:48.139 the leader, but they all count on me to be. So 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:50.019 why not give me the title? That type of thing. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:54.879 But yes, very good. Okay. What do you think is 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:58.080 the new currency of collaboration in business 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:04.200 today? Is it information, access, trust, or something 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:09.539 else? Oh, I love that question. I would say it's 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:13.820 emotions. We need emotions. We need emotional 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:17.500 connections. With, again... bringing this AI 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:20.820 topic that like, yeah, it's burning now. It's 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.259 a burning question. But again, receiving an email, 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:26.940 you read it and say, what? It was written by 00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:30.740 AI. I recognize the patterns. I see those kind 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:34.399 of the structure of the sentences AI uses. We 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:37.740 don't want that. We want this rough. with some 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:41.259 mistakes, but human connection, human, we want 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:43.980 this emotion that there's someone there who cares 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:47.240 about me. So I would say it's emotions and emotional 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:52.129 connection. And I would absolutely 100 % agree 00:14:52.129 --> 00:14:55.809 with you because the emotion, the AI will never 00:14:55.809 --> 00:14:58.450 have the emotion that a human being will have. 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:01.950 Even, look, like you and I are talking via Zoom, 00:15:02.070 --> 00:15:04.649 right? But you have to realize that on the other 00:15:04.649 --> 00:15:08.230 side of the camera, there's a person who laughs, 00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:10.549 giggles, smiles, cries, and everything else. 00:15:10.590 --> 00:15:14.190 The emotion is there. So that, I feel, is a very 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:16.169 important part of it. Very good of you to bring 00:15:16.169 --> 00:15:19.889 it up. When two teams or organizations collaborate, 00:15:20.409 --> 00:15:24.850 culture clash is almost inevitable. What's one 00:15:24.850 --> 00:15:28.990 strategy that helps align cultures without losing 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:34.690 each other's side's identity? It's a great question, 00:15:34.789 --> 00:15:37.929 especially when we now work in this remote hybrid 00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:40.730 world, when even within one team, we can have 00:15:40.730 --> 00:15:43.029 people with different cultures. And again, I 00:15:43.029 --> 00:15:45.769 write this in my book, it's how you... discuss 00:15:45.769 --> 00:15:48.889 and agree on how you work together. And that's 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:51.450 the first step. Whenever any collaboration starts, 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:55.429 like our conversations, how it started, you mentioned, 00:15:55.529 --> 00:15:58.070 here is how it goes. Here are the sort of the 00:15:58.070 --> 00:16:00.230 rules on the norms of our conversation. We'll 00:16:00.230 --> 00:16:02.169 start with this. We'll do that. You'll have 10 00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:05.309 questions and then we'll move forward. So every 00:16:05.309 --> 00:16:08.149 collaboration starts with rules of engagement. 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:11.710 Every team needs to have and agree on how do 00:16:11.710 --> 00:16:14.110 we work together, what are the team norms. And 00:16:14.110 --> 00:16:16.669 when two teams collaborate with each other, they 00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:19.370 need to, at some point, sit down and agree. Here 00:16:19.370 --> 00:16:22.590 is how we send emails. Here is how, like, quickly 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:25.309 we respond to them. Here is, like, the topics 00:16:25.309 --> 00:16:27.669 that we want to have meetings for, and here is 00:16:27.669 --> 00:16:30.250 what we can just have emails. Here is how we 00:16:30.250 --> 00:16:32.450 can say hello. Here is how we can say goodbye, 00:16:32.570 --> 00:16:35.509 how we give feedback. Here is, like, our feedback 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:38.820 can be more direct or less direct. depending 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:42.019 on the teams that are together. So having those 00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:45.039 norms is a critical element of any successful 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:49.399 collaboration. Very good. Yes, I agree 100%. 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:53.019 How do you measure the ROI of relationships, 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:57.240 not just revenue of referrals, but the long -term 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.129 value of external connections? I can tell you. 00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:06.569 I can tell you in money. I mean, the ROI is millions 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:08.490 and millions of dollars. And I'll tell you a 00:17:08.490 --> 00:17:13.509 story. And the story is of a company with great 00:17:13.509 --> 00:17:17.029 culture. It was a telecom company. And they had 00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:19.849 amazing culture. And the CEO was always talking 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:22.710 about, he was very transparent about the purpose 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:26.089 of the organization. And he collected the team 00:17:26.089 --> 00:17:30.240 that shares that purpose. And it was, the company 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.819 was going through hard times and they needed 00:17:31.819 --> 00:17:34.180 to cut costs, like really needed to cut costs. 00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:37.119 And what traditional organizations do, they lay 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.559 off people, they cut off some processes. They 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:42.339 say, here is the new way of working. What he 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:45.220 did was different. When they had those connections, 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.259 when they had those relationships, he came to 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:52.680 the contact center team and he said, I knew how. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.480 how you care about our customers. I know how 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.559 you can build great relationships with our clients 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.000 and provide amazing service and they value you 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.039 for that and we value you for that. But every 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.740 minute of your conversation costs us lots of 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:12.359 money. And I'm not going to tell you you need 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.420 to cut the time of your conversations because 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.859 I know how important it is to serve clients. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:20.059 But I want to ask you, I want you to be mindful 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:22.980 about the time of your conversations and make 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:27.140 them as short as possible to keep the great service 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:30.700 you provide. So he didn't tell them to cut the 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:35.079 conversations to one minute time. But in reality, 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:38.440 they listened, they heard, and they cut the time 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:40.619 of the conversations. Not all the conversations 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:44.609 were short, but overall. They will manage to 00:18:44.609 --> 00:18:47.230 save millions of dollars because they shorten 00:18:47.230 --> 00:18:50.349 the time of the conversation. That's the ROI 00:18:50.349 --> 00:18:53.410 of great relationships. Wow, that was great. 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:56.309 That was a great story. Thank you for that. Okay, 00:18:56.490 --> 00:19:00.430 staying on AI a little bit. In a world of AI 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:04.089 and automation, how do you see the human element 00:19:04.089 --> 00:19:08.549 of collaborating evolving? And are we at risk 00:19:08.549 --> 00:19:14.430 of outsourcing too much of our connection? AI 00:19:14.430 --> 00:19:17.789 does have a tendency, we do have a tendency to 00:19:17.789 --> 00:19:22.190 outsource our thinking to AI and using AI as 00:19:22.190 --> 00:19:25.990 a second brain, which is not. And I was once 00:19:25.990 --> 00:19:28.430 working with a team and it was, again, it was 00:19:28.430 --> 00:19:30.970 a customer support team. And at some point they 00:19:30.970 --> 00:19:33.549 were using AI a lot. And at some point the leader, 00:19:33.589 --> 00:19:36.289 the managers saw that they were losing, they 00:19:36.289 --> 00:19:39.690 were becoming more disengaged. And like, we didn't 00:19:39.690 --> 00:19:43.950 understand why, but it happened that What they 00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:46.250 did, the processes, they had a conversation with 00:19:46.250 --> 00:19:48.630 the client, they had a transcript, they uploaded 00:19:48.630 --> 00:19:51.569 to AI, they got some insights, the kind of main 00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:54.549 bullet points from AI, they uploaded it to the 00:19:54.549 --> 00:19:57.829 CRM without thinking, without processing information, 00:19:58.250 --> 00:20:00.809 without this emotional connection that we talked 00:20:00.809 --> 00:20:03.190 about before, without mentally processing the 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:06.009 information. And since they delegated too much 00:20:06.009 --> 00:20:09.549 to AI, they became disengaged. Like they felt 00:20:09.549 --> 00:20:13.089 like the operators of AI rather than people serving 00:20:13.089 --> 00:20:16.190 their customers. So what we did instead is we 00:20:16.190 --> 00:20:19.289 brought that communication connection back through 00:20:19.289 --> 00:20:23.809 having kind of short team sessions of like discussing 00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:26.670 the output of the conversations, discussing the 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:30.779 client customer's problems. Using AI as a second, 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:33.700 like as a second layer of conversation, not the 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:35.779 first layer. The first, they shared their insights 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:38.720 and thoughts and emotions. Then they took what 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.619 AI gave them and again, mentally processed and 00:20:41.619 --> 00:20:44.559 critically evaluated the outcome of AI. So it 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.519 is very important to include that part of critical 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:51.369 evaluation and like... discussing AI outputs 00:20:51.369 --> 00:20:54.390 into the work process because otherwise you'll 00:20:54.390 --> 00:20:57.170 just delegate too much and stop thinking critically 00:20:57.170 --> 00:21:00.809 evaluating what AI gives you. Yes, and it's all 00:21:00.809 --> 00:21:04.930 right to use what comes out of the AI, but you 00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:07.410 have to mix it with yourself. You have to put 00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:10.089 your own take on it and you have to change it 00:21:10.089 --> 00:21:12.470 a little bit. You can't just go straight. And 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:14.990 just print it out. Otherwise, you're going to 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:17.750 be like a robot and nobody wants to talk to you. 00:21:17.809 --> 00:21:21.509 But you have to include yourself. Okay. What 00:21:21.509 --> 00:21:24.990 advice would you give to leaders who are great 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:28.710 at managing internally but struggle to build 00:21:28.710 --> 00:21:33.109 bridges externally? That is a great question. 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:36.130 I coach a lot of leaders who say I'm an introvert, 00:21:36.230 --> 00:21:39.230 like I care of my team. I don't want to go out 00:21:39.230 --> 00:21:41.869 there. I don't want to share anything. The main 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.450 thing that they all say is that I want to create 00:21:44.450 --> 00:21:46.910 value. I don't want to be the loudest person 00:21:46.910 --> 00:21:50.710 in the room. What I try and help them realize 00:21:50.710 --> 00:21:55.210 is without going out there and sharing successes 00:21:55.210 --> 00:21:59.069 of your team or like your strengths, they actually 00:21:59.069 --> 00:22:03.349 limiting. other people. They prevent them from 00:22:03.349 --> 00:22:05.470 getting value from you. They don't know they 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:07.990 can reach out to you and get something that they 00:22:07.990 --> 00:22:11.529 need. So the reason you go out there and talk 00:22:11.529 --> 00:22:14.509 about your team, about your successes, about 00:22:14.509 --> 00:22:17.369 your strengths, is not to boast about them. It's 00:22:17.369 --> 00:22:21.150 to share the information. It's to make sure your 00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:24.450 stakeholders feel confident that they are in 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:26.710 the good hands and you can handle any situation 00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:30.289 they're facing. And I also had another conversation 00:22:30.289 --> 00:22:33.369 with a researcher on networking and negotiation. 00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:35.930 And she said, most people don't go out there 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:38.650 because they feel like they're not interesting 00:22:38.650 --> 00:22:40.769 enough and people don't want to talk to them, 00:22:40.849 --> 00:22:44.910 which is not true. People want to be connected 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:49.410 to other people. So go out there, talk about 00:22:49.410 --> 00:22:52.390 your strengths, make sure people know that, and 00:22:52.390 --> 00:22:54.430 they will reach out to you when they need you. 00:22:55.309 --> 00:22:58.589 I absolutely agree. And when I do a workshop 00:22:58.589 --> 00:23:03.269 or I coach one -on -one with the employees, that's 00:23:03.269 --> 00:23:05.990 one thing, but I have to coach the C -suite executives 00:23:05.990 --> 00:23:10.630 on how to lead them because if they do the same 00:23:10.630 --> 00:23:12.789 thing, then everything I just did was for naught, 00:23:12.890 --> 00:23:15.470 right? So you have to point them in the right 00:23:15.470 --> 00:23:18.150 direction. I'm sure you go a lot further than 00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:21.170 that, but that's what I do. All right, let's 00:23:21.170 --> 00:23:25.180 bring this podcast full circle. If you could 00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:28.339 redesign the way companies think about networking 00:23:28.339 --> 00:23:32.779 and collaboration from the ground up, what would 00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:37.839 the new model look like? That's a tough question. 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:43.920 That's why it's last. I really wish people... 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.980 Well, like people were more open in what they 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:50.539 want and what they need. And by being more open 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:52.619 in what they want and what they need and like 00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:56.279 what they can provide for others. Because there 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:58.779 are a lot of situations when we think something, 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:02.980 assume something which is not true. And if leaders 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:05.759 are more transparent in like the state of the 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.220 organization right now, even if it's the time 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:11.359 of uncertainty, they can go out and say, hey. 00:24:11.950 --> 00:24:15.009 We don't know what the next step will be. We're 00:24:15.009 --> 00:24:17.690 doing this and that to figure it out. That's 00:24:17.690 --> 00:24:20.490 transparency. And that kind of transparency creates 00:24:20.490 --> 00:24:22.990 the same, like creates trust so that employees 00:24:22.990 --> 00:24:25.990 can reach out and say, hey, I made this mistake. 00:24:26.230 --> 00:24:29.210 Here is how I'm going to fix it. So when we have 00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:32.069 that kind of transparency from the top, from 00:24:32.069 --> 00:24:35.849 the bottom, like sharing resources, sharing information. 00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:39.890 That will bring the collaboration and networking 00:24:39.890 --> 00:24:43.549 in organizations to the next level. Outstanding, 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:48.170 Daria. Listen, this is so good. And you have 00:24:48.170 --> 00:24:52.210 so much knowledge to share with somebody. If 00:24:52.210 --> 00:24:54.690 anybody would like to contact you, either to 00:24:54.690 --> 00:24:58.069 be coached or ask you a question, how could they 00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:01.809 contact you? Thanks for the question. I'm very 00:25:01.809 --> 00:25:05.289 open to connecting on LinkedIn. Send me a DM, 00:25:05.529 --> 00:25:08.289 send me a message. You can also find me on my 00:25:08.289 --> 00:25:10.869 website, dariarudnik .com. And of course, if 00:25:10.869 --> 00:25:13.130 you read my book, you probably will not need 00:25:13.130 --> 00:25:15.869 to reach me because lots of things, practical 00:25:15.869 --> 00:25:18.630 tools and exercises you can do with your team, 00:25:18.750 --> 00:25:22.650 it's all there in this book, clicking. Very good. 00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:25.630 All right. Powerful stuff right here. Remember. 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:29.049 Your next breakthrough might not come from inside 00:25:29.049 --> 00:25:32.549 your team, but the connections you build outside 00:25:32.549 --> 00:25:36.650 it. Collaboration isn't just communication, it's 00:25:36.650 --> 00:25:40.109 currency. And when you spend it wisely, profits 00:25:40.109 --> 00:25:43.950 follow. If today's episode sparked an idea or 00:25:43.950 --> 00:25:46.930 challenge, how you think about teamwork and connection, 00:25:47.210 --> 00:25:50.589 share it with someone who needs to hear it. I'm 00:25:50.589 --> 00:25:52.910 Michael Foreman, and this is Networking Unleashed. 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:56.400 where we turn connections into profit. And I'll 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.220 see you next time. Daria, thank you very much 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:01.339 for your time. And I look forward to speaking 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:04.279 with you soon. Thank you, Michael. I loved your 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:06.359 questions. They're tough and very challenging. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:13.359 Thank you. Good. Thank you. Well, hold on, folks. 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:16.559 Don't go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:21.039 David Neal, co -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.960 Up Kids is on a mission to protect children and 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:27.940 teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:31.420 They provide prevention training programs for 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.960 children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:39.339 to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:42.079 When it comes to making the biggest financial 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:45.019 decision of your life, leave it in the hands 00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:48.359 of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.519 is a global real estate agent with Century 21, 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:55.700 celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:58.380 where you're moving, Henry has the right connections 00:26:58.380 --> 00:27:05.400 for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888. 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:09.930 All right, folks. A huge thank you to our guests 00:27:09.930 --> 00:27:13.269 for sharing such incredible insights today. And 00:27:13.269 --> 00:27:16.089 of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing 00:27:16.089 --> 00:27:19.109 listeners, for tuning in and spending your time 00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:22.190 with us. If you're interested in my digital courses, 00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:25.349 being coached, or having me come and talk to 00:27:25.349 --> 00:27:28.809 your company, just go to Michael and fill out 00:27:28.809 --> 00:27:32.329 the request form. Remember, networking isn't 00:27:32.329 --> 00:27:35.029 about being perfect. It's about being present. 00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:38.180 So take what you've learned today. get out there, 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:41.319 and make some meaningful connections. If you've 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:44.059 enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:47.259 subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:49.559 someone who could use a little networking inspiration. 00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:53.480 Let's keep the conversation going. You can find 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:57.819 me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my 00:27:57.819 --> 00:28:01.680 website, foreman .com slash podcasts.