I was talking with a colleague last week, a talent management executive at a professional services firm. Just 2 short months ago, he told me that his current position was his "dream job." He had the full support of his executive team and his plans for improving talent management initiatives at the company were in full swing.

But now, his dream job has come to an abrupt end. His position has been "eliminated." After recovering from my initial shock, I asked him, "What happened?! "

His story reveals some lessons that other talent management executives should take to heart. Without getting into the details of his particular case, here are a few of the key lessons learned.

One is to develop relationships with the entire executive team. My friend had good relationships and regular communication with nearly all of the firm's executive team - but nearly all proved to be not enough. Lesson: one or two executives can sink your ship; make sure that you meet and communicate regularly with every one on the executive team.

Along these same lines, the second point is to focus attention on the "doubters." We naturally gravitate toward people who support our efforts. But in fact, we should also spend time with the business leaders who are sceptical of our role and accomplishments. Don't take their judgment personally - especially in tough economic times, everyone is fighting for resources. Some business leaders don't understand the value of talent management and why the company should invest in talent initiatives - or in talent management executives. Your job is to help them understand how you and your team add value to the business.

But be careful not to let your quest to win over these executives turn you into a people-pleaser. Your role is that of a business partner to these leaders, not an order-taker. You need to stick to the goals and initiatives that will move the company forward. You can’t fulfil everyone’s needs and “pet projects.” Remember: if you act like a waiter, you’ll get treated like one.

Finally, you need to find ways to regularly demonstrate your value and accomplishments. Don't assume that business leaders know about all of your team's successes. You need to brag about them (well, at least in a professional manner.) Most people will only remember the one thing your team didn't do, or didn't do right. So you need to continually tell them about what your team has accomplished and the impact it has had on the company. Scorecards or dashboards are great ways to communicate success metrics. And never rest on your laurels. Last month's success is old news. You need to continue to add value, and communicate it.

Hopefully these points will help you to avoid the same fate as my colleague. Although we can never count on job security, it is nonetheless disappointing, to say the least ,when we think we're on a road to success, and we meet with a detour sign. If you have any stories to share about how you communicate with executives or demonstrate your team's value, feel free to email me at Karen@bersin.com.