It’s no secret that most people spend more time in the office with their coworkers than with their own families. These office relationships can be tense, terse, and frustrating.
Without intentional actions, we can have poor workplace relationships. That means you’re going to a place day in and day out that you dread going to because you can’t stand the people you work with.
We can change that. YOU can change that.
By working on your relationships in the workplace, you can create a haven for yourself and those you lead. How do you develop better relationships?
I’ve got 4 tips to make them better. Try them on for size and see what works for you.
4 Tips For Creating Better Relationships
1. Give people the benefit of the doubt:
We all want people to give us the benefit of the doubt. After all, you would never do anything to harm or frustrate someone intentionally. Right?!?
So, why do we think the people we work with are doing this to us and others?
We place negative emotions on the actions of others. If something they do rubs us the wrong way, it’s on purpose. If they make a mistake, it’s because they want to tank the company.
We know that’s not the truth, but it’s often how we react. What if we gave them the benefit of the doubt? What if, instead, we believed they were trying their best, putting their all into it, and wanting to do things right?
It would make the workplace and our relationships much better.
2. Have crucial conversations:
Authors Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory wrote the literal book on crucial conversations. They know the conversations we have (or don’t have) are critical to the relationships we have.
By having the crucial conversations needed to communicate plans, emotions, and ideas, we can experience better relationships. Dig into those conversations and make sure you’re having the conversations that are needed.
3. Create a workplace of trust:
What happens when trust is broken? People lose their drive, they begin to gossip, and the workplace becomes toxic.
One way to prevent these situations is to create a workplace of trust. And that starts and ends with the leadership.
Be a leader who does what they say they’re going to do. Follow through with your commitments. Listen and respond to your team member’s concerns.
The more trust you build up, the better your personal relationships will be with your team.
4. Talk about your hobbies:
You would be amazed at what your team members are into. They may have a love for mountain biking, macrame, collecting comic book artwork, or Legos. Their hobbies are a part of who they are.
So are yours.
What happens when you discuss your hobbies with your coworkers? You begin to discover their passions and they discover yours. You can see each other as actual human beings who have hobbies outside of work. Some of those may even overlap with their hobbies.
You now have a mutual connection point: the hobbies you both love.
You’ll be able to start conversations knowing you have something in common. Or that they love to do something unique and exciting.
Build Those Relationships
Relationships are the bedrock of any leader. They know that to know a person is to know their heart. Continue to build and work on those workplace relationships. The more you get to know each other, the more committed you’ll become to one another’s success.
