Women Leaders | Relationships in Business

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Conversation and Connection with Private Company Women Leaders & Allies

Deloitte Private recently hosted a gathering in Chicago for women leaders and allies of private companies and family-owned businesses to discuss building relationships in business. The event provided a special opportunity to connect, share, and learn from one another. A few highlights and key takeaways are featured below.

Rededicating ourselves to connection

Relationships are the bedrock of success in business and life, and building and deepening our relationships is critical, especially for women leaders. But even though we have more ways than ever to connect with one another, many of us are feeling a sense of increasing disconnection. As a result, we need to rededicate ourselves to nurturing our personal and professional bonds, and to prioritize quality relationships over quantity of contacts.

Flipping networking on its head

After spending our days balancing hybrid or remote work with busy family lives, and a precious moment or two to ourselves, it can be difficult to connect with intention. When contacting a colleague for help, think about how you can be helpful to them and how you can support their efforts as well as your own. Reaching out to others with this mindset can help create genuine, lasting connections.

Finding common ground

Beyond talking about the weather, try discussing topics that transcend race, gender, and generations. Here are three to remember: people, pets, and plants. Everyone can relate to one if not all of those. If you connect over simple things first, you may be surprised how quickly you move to more meaningful subjects.

Sharing is contagious

When we share something personal, not only does it endear people to us, but it encourages them to share something personal in return. Fostering an environment that’s safe for vulnerability and transparency levels the playing field, creating opportunities for meaningful connection across all our organizations. These genuine human moments shine a light on what we have in common with one another, including our purpose.

Relationships expand horizons

Planning and goal setting are important in any career. But relationships can help you go above and beyond your expectations. They can help you discover opportunities you might not have found on your own, and do things you might not have thought you could do. Consider finding a mentor or mentoring someone yourself. Solving problems together builds strong bonds that last.

Doing no harm is not doing enough

It’s easy to believe by not adding to the problem of lack of diversity or opportunity, we’re helping. But that’s often not true. We should also consider how to be good allies. Being an ally is actively using your voice and power to help those without either, whether it benefits you or not. Remember, whether you’re an ally isn’t decided by you. It’s decided by others about you because of the actions you take to be a resource for them.

"No matter how smart we are, how driven we are, the fact of the matter is we don’t do anything alone."

Dr. Suzet McKinney, Principal and Director of Life Sciences, Sterling Bay

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Christina Brodzik
Principal
Deloitte Consulting LLP

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Kavitha Prabhakar
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer
Principal
Deloitte US

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Wendy Diamond
Office Tax Managing Partner, Chicago
Deloitte Private US Family Enterprise Leader

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Dr. Suzet McKinney
Principal and Director of Life Sciences
Sterling Bay

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Susan McPherson
Founder and CEO
McPherson Strategies

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Muhammad Gigani
Vice President, Tax
Reyes Holdings, LLC

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“When you do things for people, when you help people,  it will come back to you whether you ask for it or not.”

Christina Brodzik, Principal, Deloitte Consulting

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Conversation and Connection with Private Company Women Leaders & Allies

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