Alliance Professional
Alliance professionals have traditionally not been viewed as important as Sales, Manufacturing, Finance or IT professionals. But changes in the business world are requiring a rethink of the importance of alliances and the skillsets of people in alliance roles. Below are my thoughts for alliance practitioners’ most desirable skills.
SKILL #5: PERSONALITY
Alliance professionals should be outgoing and have good people skills. With so much of the Alliance role involved in teamwork and creating connections, you have to enjoy meeting new people, be flexible/adaptable, and possess a positive outlook generally.
SKILL #4: COMMUNICATION
Overall written and verbal communication skills are a must for the Alliance professional. People who are extremely capable individuals, but who lack presentation skills or executive presence, will struggle in any alliance role. For senior roles, these skills are an absolute must.
SKILL #3: LISTENING
A related characteristic is listening. We have two ears and one mouth; perhaps we should be listening twice as much as we speak. The alliance professional has a responsibility to convey their company’s position. But a tremendous amount can be learned from truly listening to others in the ecosystem – and people in their own company!
SKILL #2: POINT OF VIEW
While their first loyalty is obviously to their employer, alliance professionals must be able to see costs and benefits from their partner’s point of view. Conversations between ecosystem members need to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of each. Alliance professionals need to be able to communicate positions clearly and with conviction. But they should be diplomatic. We have all seen situations where word choice causes needless friction, even when the underlying agreement was in place.
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SKILL #1: PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
I have observed multiple alliance professionals who lacked deep understanding of their company’s products; nor did they understand the products of others in the ecosystem. While not precluding success, this lack of product knowledge, and of important business processes, could limit achievement levels. Alliance team members with a strong understanding of the business and products are able to much more effectively represent their company to the ecosystem – and see where others in the ecosystem can add value.