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Managing relationships at work are an aspect one cannot ignore. Building positive relationships at the workplace is vital for a successful career. Relationships at the workplace can have a positive or negative impact on job satisfaction and productivity.
Positive work relations make employees more comfortable and less intimidated by others, thereby becoming a source of energy. Since building relationships is not easy for most people; most people refuse to acknowledge this as a concern. We all assume we already know how to manage it, since it is a basic concept. However, everyone should and can improve and work towards building positive workplace relationships.
KelpHR offers you a few tips on how to manage relationships with your colleagues
- Recognize your strengths and weaknesses – Recognize the positive aspects you bring to the workplace and consider what you need to work on. Skills like communication, conflict resolution, and active listening help in developing positive relationships. Understanding and working on your emotional intelligence is another aspect that you could tap on, while on the task. Focus on soft skills like empathy, social skills, self-awareness, and self-regulation. Emotional Quotient is the new IQ!
- Share more of yourself – Let people know who you are. Be open to share your expertise and knowledge & make an effort to collaborate. Let people get to know you in the process. As people find you more approachable, you will see relationships building.
- Interact and communicate – Another important aspect of relationship building. A connection is formed between colleagues, when one continues to interact and communicate and makes an effort to get to know each other better. This requires focused effort, and is often times easier said than done – especially if you are an introvert! The good news is the more you try, the better you get at it!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help – Reach out and ask colleagues for help. Invite them to become involved in your projects and other activities you are working on. The better you get to know your colleagues, the more you will enjoy working with them; leading to better productivity.
- Participate and initiate activities outside of work – When colleagues find common and similar interests outside of work, it has a positive impact on relationships. Socially interacting outside the workplace can lead to creating bonds of friendship and trust.
- Appreciate and offer praise – Get into the habit of appreciating the efforts of others. Speak positively about others and offer quality feedback. Often, as we all have experienced, information that gets shared comes back to the person being discussed. When colleagues hear positive things being said about them, you will earn their support and trust. Stay away from workplace gossip that is widely prevalent and refuse to comment or encourage such behavior.
- Send out notes of appreciation – Encourage those that are doing exemplary work by sending out emails appreciating them. Send them to your team, your peers, to those working above you and below you. People like to be recognized for their efforts and will feel closer to you for recognizing them and appreciating them for their efforts.
- Stick with your commitments – It is likely that you develop a stronger relationship when your colleagues know that they can rely on you. Trust is built when you stick to your commitments and deliver on time. If you find it difficult to keep commitments due to a busy work schedule, let your team members and peers know beforehand. Tell them you will get back to them when time permits and remember not to over-commit. Always be realistic while agreeing to work commitments and responsibilities.
- Build relational agility – When faced with conflict, be willing to find new ways of interacting with each other – that’s what we call relational agility. Maintain a positive tone, share your narrative and consciously solicit the other person’s explanation. People often respond to conflicts with one’s own interpretation of events and tend to offer preferred solutions. If instead, people have a different and creative approach to solving the conflict, it is more likely to restore the relationship and maybe even strengthen it.
- Commit to change – Observe and identify patterns that cause the most problems in your career and workplace relationships. Make conscious efforts to course correct. Being self-aware is one of the most fundamental aspects of establishing cordial workplace relationships.
