Healthy relationships based on trust are the foundation of good organizational culture in the workplace. Whether you’re an employee or a manager/leader, striving to improve your relationships with your peers and seniors is something that is a constant need. Let’s understand the importance of relationship-building skills and how they can help you excel at work.
Read on these 5 tips that’ll help you build your relationship-building skills.
- Be honest in your relationships
Honesty is one of the main pillars on which relationships stand tall. Never lie and betray people as this will have a negative impact on your relations. If you want to build your relationship-building skills, you need to be a patient listener. Listen to the other person not just to reply, but to understand their point of view.
Don’t try and impose your ideas and thoughts on the other person. Let there be a free flow of ideas and even if you disagree with someone on some point, explain it in an appropriate manner. Don’t back bitch about people, this will only ruin your relationships.
- Respect others and be empathetic
When you are respectful and empathetic towards the other person, they trust you a lot more and it helps strengthen your relationship. When you are in a managerial role or a leader, this quality becomes more important to building your relationship-building skills. You need to make an extra effort to be respectful and polite to not just your peers, but also your juniors.
- Never misguide anyone
If you feel your team member or colleague is going on the wrong track, you must guide him. When you have a strong relationship with your team members, they’ll rely on you to give them the right feedback and encourage them to take the right step. Relationship building is all about being straightforward and not crossing boundaries.
It’ll be best if you are transparent in your relationships and always keep in mind that transparency is essential at all levels of hierarchy. This way you’ll be able to foster long-term relationships at the workplace.
- Communicate effectively to build relationships
The importance of effective communication is unmatched. The way you communicate has a direct impact on your relationships. Understand what you want to communicate and what is the right way to do so. Pay attention to non-verbal communication like facial gestures, eye contact, hand movements, and body language as well.
There are various other aspects of communication that make it effective to build stronger relations. These are – not having biases, overcoming your fears, communicating concisely, using the right words, and always sharing feedback. Practice these for better relationship-building skills.
- Be polite yet firm
Being friends with your colleagues doesn’t mean you have to say yes to everything they say. Take a stand for yourself. There’s a difference between being firm and being rude, don’t cross that thin line. It is true that you’ll not agree with everything that your colleague or manager says but saying no or showing resentment needs to be done in a proper way. Your politeness combined with your affirmative nature will help in relationship building.
Apart from these tips, another important point you need to remember is to keep your ego aside. There is no place for ego in the workplace. It will become a hindrance to developing relationships. That’s why be good and kind to everyone!
Relationship-building skills cannot be achieved overnight. You need to work on them, constantly learn from your mistakes, and put in effort and time to make sure these skills are at the top level.
