Communication, trust and understanding: 100 days of building relationships

It's official...I've been the CEO of Intellinexus for 100 days and in that time I’ve learned some extraordinary lessons. The first, perhaps most important, is that human connections and authentic conversations are the defining characteristics of a successful business.

I recently read an article in Forbes that emphasised how important relationships are in business. It said that it is relationships that allow for communication to ‘flow between parties’ and helps companies improve processes, learn more about how people work together, creates teams and improves customer satisfaction. Fast-forward to 2024 and research shows the same narrative – relationships sit at the heart of the customer and the business. Happy people, be they internal or external, equal happy companies.

It's also relationships that define how I am approaching my new role. Leadership adds a different dimension to communication. Leaders build bridges, connecting the expertise of the company with clients, partners, prospective customers, and the community. It’s a role that asks for me to be stable, firm as the foundation for the business and upholding its growth and vision. And I have approached this responsibility by connecting with people, by asking questions and listening to the answers.

I believe that if we talk about prioritising people at Intellinexus, we have to do so much more than a wellness day or a massage. The goal for us is to create – this is a powerful word – an internal team capable of reimagining how we build partnerships with each other and with our clients.

Questions that shape a connected future

What have we done for you? What aren’t we doing well? What should we do more? These are the questions that I keep asking. I want to know how employees and customers feel about Intellinexus and the work we do because that’s the only way we can evolve and learn. Mistakes, poor performance, failure – these are wonderful to know because they allow us to reinvent ourselves, reimagine our service delivery, and change in the right ways.

I think it is important that we always listen but also that we apply the learnings. It’s one thing to nod and agree, another thing to implement real change that shows a commitment to growth. That is the true path to building trust and long-standing relationships.

I’ve been focusing on these steps over the past 100 days (and counting) because I want to create value within the business that flows outwards towards our customers and because I want to ensure that the culture is one of authenticity. We listen, we respect, we create change that matters.

Refining relationship sustainability

Throughout my time as CEO here, I have also recognised that leadership change is disruptive, for customers and our people alike. A new broom sweeps clean – this saying is a cliché for a reason and it makes people nervous. However, standing on the shoulders of our founder and COO, Jacques du Preez means our approaches are aligned and that Intellinexus will always committed to continuously investing in ourselves, our own development, and next-generation solutions that always put our customers at the forefront of transformation.