Relationship Building Skills

Healthy relationship is the key to positive ambience at the workplace.

Let us go through few relationship building skills.

Be honest in your relationships. Never lie to people you are close to. The foundation of your relationship needs to be really strong if you are thinking of a successful and long term relationship.

Be a patient listener. Always listen to what the other person has to say. Never underestimate anyone. You never know when someone can up with a brilliant idea. Never try to impose your ideas on others. It is really not necessary that the other person will also say a yes to whatever you feel is correct. Listen to his/her idea as well, brainstorm and try to reach to a mutually beneficial solution.

Be giving in relationships. Do not always expect the other person to think for you. Try to take the first step. Always think as to how you can be helpful to others.

Learn to count your words. Be careful what you say. Never hurt anyone’s feelings irrespective of his /her designation and family status. You have no rights to insult someone just because he/she come to work by local bus.

Respect others. Superiors ought to respect their subordinates if they expect the same in return. Gone are the days when bosses used to be Hitler. In today’s scenario no one listens to such a person and he/she is in the bad books of almost everyone.

Never misguide anyone. If you feel your team member is going on the wrong track, guide him/her immediately. People in relationships expect the other person to handhold them and stand by them even at the times of crisis. Give others the right suggestion.

It always pays to be straight forward in relationships. Never speak ill about someone behind their backs.

Be transparent in relationships. Transparency is essential at all levels of hierarchy. A superior needs to be transparent with his/her subordinates and vice a versa.

One needs to communicate effectively for successful relationships. The other person must understand what you intend to communicate. Remember you need to choose the correct words and the message must be clear. Don’t keep the other person in dilemma.

Learn to say a polite yet firm no to people. Being friends with your colleagues does not mean you need to reveal all your secrets and disclose confidential information. You must know where to draw the line. Never disclose your team’s strategies to anyone outside your team, no matter how close he/she is to you. If you do so, your survival in the office will be a big question mark.

Leave your ego behind the moment you step inside the office. There is actually no place of ego in relationships as well. Be kind to each and every-one. It pays in the long run.

Avoid being jealous. Never criticize anyone.

Learn to forgive others.

Time is one of the most important factors which decides the fate of any relationship be it in office or personal relationships. At office, you need to give time to your subordinates, team members and people around you. Lend a sympathetic ear to other’s problems. Have lunch with your team members, talk to them but never interfere too much in their personal lives. Wish them on their birthdays, go out with them for small get-togethers or speak to them once in a while after work. Exchange SMSes. Such small initiatives go a long way in breaking the ice and strengthening the bond among individuals. Remember, at workplace one spends the maximum time with his/her fellow workers. It is thus always advisable to maintain healthy relationship with people around you at the workplace for a successful career.

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