Building Good Relationships at Work Making Work Enjoyable and Productive

Why Have Good Relationships? Better our relationships are at work, the happier and more productive we're going to be Good working relationships give us several other benefits: our work is more enjoyable when we have good relationships with those around us. Also, people are more likely to go along with changes that we want to implement, and we're more innovative and creative Good relationships give us freedom: instead of spending time and energy overcoming the problems associated with negative relationships, we can, instead, focus on opportunities Good relationships are also often necessary if we hope to develop our careers. After all, if your boss doesn't trust you, it's unlikely that he or she will consider you when a new position opens up. Overall, we all want to work with people we're on good terms with. We also need good relationships with others in our professional circle. Customers, suppliers, and key stakeholders are all essential to our success. So, it's important to build and maintain good relations with these people

Defining a Good Relationship Trust - This is the foundation of every good relationship. When you trust your team and colleagues, you form a powerful bond that helps you work and communicate more effectively. If you trust the people you work with, you can be open and honest in your thoughts and actions, and you don't have to waste time and energy "watching your back.“ Mutual Respect - When you respect the people that you work with, you value their input and ideas, and they value yours. Working together, you can develop solutions based on your collective insight, wisdom and creativity. Mindfulness - This means taking responsibility for your words and actions. Those who are mindful are careful and attend to what they say, and they don't let their own negative emotions impact the people around them. Welcoming Diversity - People with good relationships not only accept diverse people and opinions, but they welcome them. For instance, when your friends and colleagues offer different opinions from yours, you take the time to consider what they have to say, and factor their insights into your decision-making. Open Communication - We communicate all day, whether we're sending emails and IMs, or meeting face-to-face. The better and more effectively you communicate with those around you, the richer your relationships will be. All good relationships depend on open, honest communication

What is Listening? listening: the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and responding to spoken and/or nonverbal messages; to hear something with thoughtful attention Effective communication is 2-way depends on speaking and listening

Listening vs. Hearing Hearing- physical process; natural; passive Listening- physical & mental process; active; learned process; a skill Listening is hard! You must choose to participate in the process of listening.

Fast Facts We listen at 125-250 wpm, think at 1000-3000 wpm 75% of the time we are distracted, preoccupied or forgetful 20% of the time, we remember what we hear More than 35% of businesses think listening is a top skill for success Less than 2% of people have had formal education with listening

Percentage of Communication Mode of Communication Formal Years of Training Percentage of Time Used Writing 12 years 9% Reading 6-8 years 16 % Speaking 1-2 years 30% Listening 0-few hours 45%

Qualities of Active Listeners Desire to be “other-directed” No desire to protect yourself Desire to understand, not critique Desire to imagine the experience of the other

Skills for Active Listening Examples: Sitting forward Eye contact Nodding head BODY LANGUAGE

Skills for Active Listening OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS Examples: What happened after that? Who was there? What did they do? How did that work?

Skills for Active Listening Examples: So what I hear you saying is . . . REPEAT CONTENT

Skills for Active Listening ACKNOWLEDGING FEELINGS Examples: You’re feeling ___. It makes you (feeling) that . . .

Skills for Active Listening Examples: Bite your tongue! DON’T JUDGE

Skills for Active Listening Examples: Count to yourself. BEING QUIET

Listening is the most powerful form of acknowledgment Listening is the most powerful form of acknowledgment …a way of saying, “You are important.”

Listening builds stronger relationships …creates a desire to cooperate among people because they feel accepted and acknowledged.

Listening promotes being heard Listening promotes being heard …”Seek first to understand, then be understood.” - Stephen Covey

Listening creates acceptance and openness Listening creates acceptance and openness …conveys the message that “I am not judging you.”

Listening leads to learning Listening leads to learning …openness encourages personal growth and learning

Listening reduces stress and tension. …minimizes confusion and Listening reduces stress and tension …minimizes confusion and misunderstanding, eliminating related stress and tension

Listening is CRITICAL in conflict resolution …much conflict comes from the need to be heard. Successful resolution depends on being a non-anxious presence.

Barriers to Listening Equate With Hearing Uninteresting Topics Speaker’s Delivery External Distractions Mentally Preparing Response Listening for Facts Personal Concerns Personal Bias Language/Culture Differences Faking Attention

Summary Building and maintain good work relationships will not only make you more engaged and committed to your organization; it can also open doors to key projects, career advancement, and raises.

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