As I’m writing this article, we’re closing out the first year of Covid-19; deep into February 2021. We had such high hopes for change by now. But schools are still closed to some degree or another. Expectations of vaccine efficacy have been questioned. The one-two shot was supposed to get us back to some kind of normal within a month or two. Well, Anthony Fauci is now predicting the Fall of 2021.

The learning never stops as you climb the ranks of corporate leadership. You acquire the technical skills and industry insights necessary to stay ahead of the game. And they just require refresher courses now and then to keep your saw sharpened. But the higher up the ranks you ascend, the demand for technical acumen makes way for the increased need to broaden and deepen your people skills. Those lessons never seem to end.

I’m often asked what the critical components are to the kind of extraordinary partnership that I have with my chief people officer. I have to say there is indeed a bit of luck, chemistry, and magic to our rapport. But there are some aspects to our relationship that are absolutely replicable – assuming both partners are willing participants in the adventure. I’ve unpacked them for you here.