Greg Stevenson shares how a 15-year relationship with a headhunter named James led to his role as Managing Director of K&S Corporation. His system: identify 10-15 key influencers and send them a three-sentence update every six months on what you promised, delivered, and are working on. The point is consistent contact over time, not reaching out only when you need something.
15 years before I got the best role of my career, I was already building the relationship that would make it possible. I did not know it at the time. I was just doing one simple thing consistently every 6 months for 15 years. Today I want to tell you what that thing was and why it matters more than almost anything else in how you manage your professional relationships. I will call it the James story. James was an executive headhunter, one of the best in the country at what he did. Early in my career, I made a decision— not a strategic one, just a principle— to tell people what I would achieve, deliver it, then go back and tell them I delivered it. Same cadence, every 6 months. Not when I needed something, not when I was between roles, just consistent, regular contact. Where I showed up, told the truth, and delivered what I said I would. James was one of those people that I could do that with. 15 years went by. Then I got the phone call. James rang me. He said he had my next job. I said, what is it? He said, it's running a transport company. And straight away I said no. I'd already run a transport company. I did not need to do it again. His response was, hold on. He explained it was ASX listed, that I had not done that yet, and that my career needed it. And I listened, not because of the argument, because it was James making it and he knew me. 15 years of watching me, 15 years of me showing up, that is what made the argument land. I took the job, Managing Director of K&S Corporation, a top 200 ASX listed company. It was the most formative role of my career. 1,800 people, as I said, ASX listed, and a full turnaround. And the reason I got it was a 15-year relationship built on one system, simple system. Here is the system exactly as I ran it. Identify the 10 to 15 people who matter most to your professional future— headhunters, board members, senior peers. People in your industry who will influence where you go next. Every 6 months, reach out. Not to ask for anything, but to update them. Tell them what you said you would achieve. Tell them what you actually achieved. Then tell them what you're working on next. That's the whole system. Very simple. 3 sentences every 6 months for as long as it takes. The compounding effect of that system is unlike anything else I know in professional development. Because the people who matter most are always watching more than you think, and they make decisions based on patterns, not a single impressive interaction. A specific word on executive headhunters. Most executives only call headhunters when they need a role. By then, it's too late to build the relationship with them. The executives who get the best roles are not the ones who call the best headhunters. They are the ones the best headhunters already know. Build those relationships now, not when you need them, 15 years before you need them. The most valuable professional relationships are not the ones you call when you need something. They are the ones where someone calls you and cares enough about your future to push back when you're about to get it wrong, like I was. That is what James did for me, and that relationship was built in hundreds of small, consistent moments over 15 years. Subscribe for more on the interior game of executive leadership. And if you think you're ready to do the work on this directly, click the link below.
