Strategic Alliance Magazine Q3 2017 - 45

R E P U TAT I O N M AT T E R S

Alliance managers generally have
a particular phenotype.
n They tend to be comfortable with a "servant
leadership" style of management.
n They have a demonstrated track record
exercising vision, judgement, and influence
cross-functionally within the Lilly organization.
n They are comfortable dealing with ambiguity.
Figure 2

started to communicate the value of our work by displaying OAM-branded posters of our team's metrics,
illustrating OAM's contribution to the business's bottom
line. Additionally, the work of OAM has been highlighted
in Lilly's annual integrated report. Last but certainly not
least, we continue to leverage the output of our measurement tools to assess the state of our reputation both
internally and externally.

Create Your Own Reputation
The reputation of every alliance management organization is vital and worthy of prioritization. Whether you are
a team of one or a team of 20, defining, building, and
maintaining a strong reputation in a competitive marketplace takes focus and energy.

Build Tools: We developed branded communications
tools and templates to ensure a consistent look and feel
whenever and wherever we had the opportunity to share
our story. This ensures that when OAM is engaged with
an alliance partner or an internal client, the department
and its team are represented in a manner consistent with
the reputation that we have worked over many years to
develop. Finally, we utilized two types of measurement
tools: a Voice of the Alliance survey that measures the
health of an alliance and an internal customer satisfaction survey.

MAINTAIN: The Journey Never Ends
Over the course of time, we have continued to build on
the reputation that the founding OAM team outlined and
established. We recognize that the practice of alliance
management across all industries has continued to mature-and that we must continue to maintain the
reputation we have worked so hard to create.
To that end, in addition to the ongoing efforts mentioned
above, we have begun branching out and publishing articles on alliance management in journals not limited to
our profession. (Two examples are in Harvard Business
Review online and Trusteeship magazine.) Internally, we
Gary Butkus, RPh, CA-AM, is director
of alliance management at Eli Lilly and
Company.

Figure 4
To establish and enhance your own reputation, consider
taking these three steps:
1. Commit to guideposts
2. Create a plan of action
3. Strive to measure and preserve that reputation
These three actions can bring immediate and long-lasting
recognition to the challenging and rewarding work that is
done by alliance management teams. When leaders and
alliance partners know what you do and how you do it,
you will be invited to the table, your voice will be heard,
and your work will be valued. n
Kerri Randel Charles, CA-AM, is a
manager of alliance management at
Eli Lilly and Company.

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Q3 * 2017 | STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Strategic Alliance Magazine Q3 2017