The final post in our series on relationships is on how to build relationships. If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, it’s worth checking them out first:
- The Importance of Relationships at Work
- 7 Types of Work Relationships
- 5 Stages of Relationships
- 7 Qualities of Meaningful Relationships
Unfortunately, there’s no magic process to building relationships, whether professional or personal. But by having a strong understanding of the concepts above, you’ll be on your way to building stronger relationships, not just at work, but in all walks of life. To help you in the right direction, here are 10 Tips to Building Relationships:
- Listen more, talk less. Rather than constantly force your ideas on others, listen to what they have to say and build from there.
- Pay attention to non-verbal cues. In one-on-one interactions, up to 93% of communication is non-verbal. Pick up on how someone is really feeling to truly understand what they are trying to / wish they could say.
- Learn the other person’s name. Use it. Often a person’s favorite word in any language is their own name, use it to show that you care enough about them to have learned it, and that you’re trying to connect with them.
- Follow the Platinum Rule. Treat others how THEY want to be treated.
- Be honest. Just be honest about how you feel. Lying is more difficult and instantly breaks any trust you’ve built.
- Keep your commitments. If you’ve said you’ll be somewhere or do something, be that somewhere and do that something. Breaking your commitments is a form of dishonesty.
- Walk in their shoes. Try to truly understand where they are coming from and how it makes them feel. Empathize with them.
- Have a sense of humor. Not only is humor a great way of establishing and maintaining relationships, it’s also a great mentality to have when things become tense or stressful.
- Don’t forget about yourself. The best relationships are the ones where two independent people come together. If you don’t work on your own issues, problems and insecurities, you’ll never support the other person as much as you truly could.
- Divorce your non-friends. Not everyone deserves to be around you. If the person is detrimental to your work or well-being, find a way to not be around them (whether through finding a new job or choosing not to hang out with them).
How to Build Relationships By following these tips and building the qualities of meaningful relationships through to the Continue stage, you can build relationships that will improve your work, increase your workplace satisfaction and make life more fun.
