At this time, there will be many people finding it a challenge to work in different ways. Whether you have new people to forge relationships with, or working remotely offers some unique challenges, there is much you can do.
There are many ways to build relationships with those working in your team. Many leaders are very effective with this skill and others, well, less so. For those finding it a challenge, here are three quick tips.
When we want the best performance with our people, we have to develop smart leadership skills to make this happen. These can easily be learned, implemented and then practised, step by step.
Ask Something Personal
This is easy. By asking something gentle and loose, yet relevant to them, you will take a big step in making the relationship fast.
You see, most people like people who are interested in things that are important to them. So as managers it’s vital to build relationships that aren’t about the workplace alone, it’s the ability to get to know them as real people that counts.
By asking authentic questions that really show interest and curiosity in them as individuals and not just those horrible corporate ‘numbers’ we so often label our people with, Being as personal as they can let you be, we show we care and are interested. This in turn builds rapport and trust that will grease the wheels when we need to ask more of them to add value to their performance – and our business.
Pay Full Attention
This is as simple as it gets, yet so many managers fail to observe this fundamental relationship-building skill.
When you listen to your people, be courteous enough to pay full attention to them, by looking at them, focusing on what they are saying, as well as appreciating what their words really mean.
There’s a little more to this. When we engage in one-to-one interactions with people, this is a contract we have to make and keep. A contract that exists between us to show that we value them and their input.
By blocking out interferences, we can make this a creative contribution to the relationship-building we undertake.
Listen to Them
When you show you are listening, you strengthen a relationship and this can happen really quickly, within minutes even. This is more than paying full attention, because it asks questions of what they tell you.
By linking what they say to the next level of interaction we have, we generate a far closer relationship with them. They sense that what we heard from them was useful enough to want to know more; to seek greater clarification and even better to show we understand them fully.
Truly listening is without judgement and is purely to gain information and more. The more being that we really ‘get them’; who they are, what they feel and how they stand personally on the issue in hand.
Listening is bigger than words – it is being at one with them.
Using these three neat little steps will rapidly accelerate your relationship-building skills, such that you blend the need for good people on your team, with the ability to make it work much more effectively.
Building relationships with employees is a vital requirement for managers. These three small steps will make it much easier.
Previously published on LinkedIn
