How to Make Work Easy: Build Relationships
“If you believe a business is built on relationships, make building them your business.”
– Scott Stratten
All organizations are made up of people, each doing their part and rarely working in isolation. Yet all too often, employees form few meaningful relationships with coworkers. Whether due to the crush of workload or simple shyness, it’s easy to neglect the basic relationship-building work that makes tasks easier to accomplish and the workday more enjoyable.
No One Succeeds Without Business Relationships
In the press of deadlines and work responsibilities, many of us put off getting to know coworkers more in-depth–but the long-term consequences are grave. Without ‘friends at work,’ you operate as an island. It’s hard for you to get projects approved without colleagues or mentors who express support for your ideas. You can’t get anyone to help you with initiatives you’re asked to lead, so they tend to fizzle out.
When you try to plan strategy, you don’t benefit from diverse views, shared efforts, or collaboration, so you’re susceptible to embarrassing missteps. Ultimately, you become viewed as ‘unable to play with others,’ and are considered of little value to the organization.
Get promoted? It won’t happen.
Read a Harvard Professional Development article on How to Build Business Relationships by Lian Parsons.
Strengthen Your Relationship-Building Process
Fortunately, anyone can commit to building more and better work relationships. As the old saying goes, if you want to have friends, be the sort of person others at your workplace would want to befriend.
How can you do that? Be improving your social skills–or what many of us know as emotional intelligence (EI) quotient. The five aspects of EI are:
Self-awareness–Know your strengths and weaknesses and be aware of how you impact others. Are you funny, or a good listener? Use it.
Self-regulation–Control big emotions at work–no one wants to be friends with someone who’s shouting, slamming angrily around the office, or crying in the bathroom.
Motivation–At work, people are attracted to colleagues who show an inner drive to achieve.
Empathy–Consider others’ feelings, especially when you’re making decisions that affect others.
Social skill–Managing relationships requires that you invest in those relationships. Take time to meet one-on-one, bond over common hobbies, learn others’ interests and values.
Finally, don’t be satisfied with your existing network of professional friendships, no matter how large it is. Always continue to expand your network.
Watch a Amanda Rose from talent experts Robert Half discuss how to build and maintain successful business relationships in this video.
What is Relationship Building?
Relationships are the connections we have with other people. There are several different situations in which you need solid relationships at work. You might need people to cooperate with you or comply with what you’ve asked them to do. Then there are people who need your cooperation or compliance. Finally, there are people who oppose you–they’ll frustrate your efforts unless you’ve built a relationship with them.
No matter which scenario presents itself, strong relationships are essential for workplace success. The good news is that everyone has the opportunity to build more and stronger work relationships–even if you’ve just reported for your first day in a new position.
CHEAT SHEET: How to Build Relationships When You’re New
It can feel awkward to start up friendships at work when you’re a new hire. Use our four top tips to quickly build a valuable professional network as a newbie:
Introduce yourself. Instead of only chatting with people you already know or waiting for an introduction, take the initiative. If you’re nervous, practice your intro.
Remember names. Don’t rely on memory–write down each new contact’s name and relevant facts about them to help you recall them next time.
Ask questions. Worried about what to say? Remember, everyone loves to be asked about themselves. Put the focus on them and you’ll make a fast friend.
Diversify. A valuable network isn’t just your peers at work. Look for new types who would enrich your network–at the gym, a school meeting, anywhere.
Read how to Expand Relationship Building as part of coming a stronger leader in the book Twelve Skills: the guide to becoming a stronger leader and accelerating your career.
Resources On Relationship Building:
8 Ways to Build Strong Relationships in the Workplace by Jennifer Herrity
Harvard Business Review–The Insight: A Formula for Building Trusting Relationships with Gill Rider
How Strong Are Your Leadership Skills?
Take the Twelve Skills assessment and find out.
About Us
Ed Barrows and Laura M. Downing have nearly 60 years’ experience as certified coaches and university professors who work with high-potential leaders in the world’s top organizations. They’ve distilled their knowledge and research into twelve fundamentals leaders need most to advance in their organizations today. Learn more at www.twelveskills.com.
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