Relationships – How are yours?

BY CHUCK MORRIS

This concerns your work relationships. Your other interests around relationships will wait for another day and authored by someone else. By the way, how are your work relationships? Do you build good working relationships and maintain them? They do need to be maintained.

How do you build a good relationship? You need to be someone who does not shy away from conversation and building trust amongst your staff, showing empathy when it is required, and walking the talk.

Trust is built every day. The demeanor you display to your staff, the mood you walk around with, the way in which you carry out business each day not only with staff but with senior management, partner groups, and others is all part of building that trust. Show people you care about them and what they do for you and the operation.

Never demean anyone. Period. If you need to chat about a mistake or error in judgement with a staff member, put them at ease and then address the issue in a nonconfrontational stance. They are people too. If you are terminating a position, you should carry on with what you have just read and still dismiss an individual if justified. There is no need for angry table banging and yelling rhetoric to get any message across. That can be done in simple, easy language without allowing

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others to hear you and keeping a level of decorum which in some cases has made the delivery of bad news a little easier to take.

Appreciation and respect for everyone should be the norm. Speak well of your team members (and others). Never speak ill of anyone, especially in your work environment or out in public. You never know who is sitting in the booth behind you while you have lunch.

Glass half full or half empty? Try to turn things around so you display the genuine positive attitude/ outlook. This is very important. We all face terrible things from time to time but if you are resilient you should be able to remain positive.

This may take practice, but if you have a ‘poker face’ you stand a far better chance at keeping your staff together in tough times or during distressing situations. A clear and open mind will usually be the thing needed to lead your team into a better spot.

Show appreciation whenever you have the chance. We all like to be thanked for achieving a project conclusion or coming up with a new and better idea that may win everyone over. Once in a while present your team with a memento of appreciation such as a handwritten note or motivational wall plaque to thank them. Always think about your staff. They are important people in their own right and your success depends on them performing well.

Listen with the intent to listen. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted while listening to someone. Turn away from the computer. Do not answer the phone unless you know an important call is coming in; tell the person speaking to you that if it comes in, you will need to take it. Call your team member back in once the call is complete to allow them to finish what they had to say.

Always be present when listening to people. Ask a question or two periodically to show them you are listening. Avoid interrupting them with your own experiences as they are explaining theirs.

Always be the grownup in the room. You will find over time that your team begins to emulate some of the traits you display. Be proud of that and recognize it only in your own mind. A gentle nod of the head may be all that is required to show them that you see improvement. n