Healthy, effective relationships in the workplace are an essential ingredient in both the performance and efficiency of teams and the overall business. Collaboration and culture are fundamental within a business, not only does it boost morale, but it also drives success by working cooperatively and effectively with your colleagues.
Humans have a basic need for belonging and connection and we are intrinsically motivated to develop and maintain personal bonds with others. A lack of interpersonal relationships can negatively impact our health, our ability to adjust and our overall wellbeing. We have all experienced, no doubt, some challenging colleagues in our past, possibly currently and most likely in our future workplaces. By implementing a positive relationship from the beginning and mutual respect, we can learn to understand how our colleagues like to work and ensure a concrete foundation is built from the beginning.
So what key factors are important to building an effective working relationship with your colleagues?
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Open Communication: open communication is a vital part of day to day life, whether it’s in the workplace or in your social and personal relationships. Encouraging open communication by asking questions and understanding one another’s needs and points of view, is the first step to ongoing and open communication.
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Acceptance: Understanding one another and appreciating each other’s role is an important element. Accepting that people will have different points of view and opinions. Being open to learning from your colleagues’ experiences and suggestions, could increase the overall quality of work and output.
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Trust: Putting trust in your colleagues and being able to rely on them and vouch for them, is an important characteristic when building relationships. To build trust, you need accountability and guidelines. Be clear in setting expectations and also meeting them yourself.
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Respect: As the famous saying goes, “you can’t demand respect, you earn it.” By delivering when you say you will deliver and being present in the workplace and adding your contributions to the team, will be achieved, organically. Remember to respect everybody’s contribution and different views.
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Team Player: Ask if someone needs help, be a part of their success and help them succeed. Identify if someone is feeling uneasy or over worked and lend an ear to help resolve or lighten the workload.
