1. Establishing Effective Working Relationships With Scott Douglas

2. 2 Thinking ahead Do you understand yourself and those in your team? Can you build and sustain trust and confidence from them? Do you know how to establish and benefit from professional networks? Are you careful with office politics? Are you able to turn conflicts in to agreements?

3. 3 Understand yourself and others For quality relationships to flourish at work, people need to – understand themselves and others – have well-developed interpersonal skills – have the ability to build trust and confidence – navigate organisational politics

4. 4 Understand yourself and others This requires – wide-ranging support networks to call on for advice and assistance – lots of clear communication – the willingness to deal with conflict and differences of opinion

5. 5 The Johari Window

6. 6 Understand yourself Extrovert or Introvert? Feeler, Intuitor, Sensor or Thinker? Conscientious Thinker, Dominant Director, Interacting Socialiser or Steady Relater? Analyst, Empathist, Legalist, or Realist? People or Task Focused? What about those you work alongside?

7. 7 Build trust and confidence Earn trust Don’t blame – take responsibility Treat people ‘right’ – show respect Do the ‘right thing’ – behave ethically and with integrity Be consistent

8. 8 Effective working relationships To nurture your working relationships: – Ask for someone’s opinions or advice, in person or over the ‘phone – Fit in with people’s preferred working styles and personality styles – Have lunch together – Include people in relevant emails

9. 9 Nurture effective working relationships – Drop by their workspace, especially when it isn’t on your regular path – Pay attention to how people use language and personal space – Adjust your own to be more similar so they feel comfortable

10. 10 Effective networks Networking is – a critical skill for students – one of the key behaviours of effective leaders Do you have a network? Is it effective?

11. 11 Effective networks Effective networks are – diverse – of a good size – with strong bonds – high quality

12. 12 Effective networks The more varied your networks, the more powerful they are in supplying a wide range of information and ideas – people with different backgrounds – different interests and skills Don’t just network with people who are similar to yourself – mix it up!

13. 13 Effective networks Large networks have more potential for supporting you, so include more people – from outside your organisation – from inside your organisation Include the following: – customers, suppliers, competitors – professional associations, consultants, teachers …

14. 14 Effective networks Networks with strong bonds increase members’ willingness to support each other So stay in touch and build mutual respect and trust with everyone Concentrate on the people you plan to call on and support the most

15. 15 Effective networks Network with the best Make sure the people you network with are – Skilled – Smart and influential – Have strong networks themselves

16. 16 Some ways to network Attend seminars and conferences Help people who join your organisation, professional association and networks Show interest in them. Be open to the fresh insights they can offer Help them to assimilate and adjust

17. 17 Some ways to network Be active in – service clubs – social clubs – industry groups – special interest groups

18. 18 Some ways to network Be thoughtful and stay in touch with phone calls and emails Consider sending – an article – a website link – a thank-you note to someone who has contributed something worthwhile

19. 19 Managing conflict Conflict is inevitable Everyone is not going to agree with you all the time When managed well, conflict can be helpful – It brings up new ideas – It solves problems – It improves relationships long term

20. 20 Hurting and helping responses to conflict

21. 21 Stages of conflict

22. 22 Conflict management styles

23. 23 Win-lose, win-win, lose-win attitudes

24. 24 Tips to reach agreements Adopt a problem-solving approach See the disagreement as a problem to solve rather than a battle to win Act, don’t react Don’t react quickly. Pause and think: What outcome do you want and how can you best achieve that

25. 25 Tips to reach agreements Agree on the content Make sure you are both talking about the same thing Agree on the process Right at the beginning, agree how to approach the discussions

26. 26 Tips to reach agreements Keep early discussions informal Easier to ‘toughen up’ than ‘soften down’ Limit each discussion Just discuss a few issues each time so the ‘mountain’ doesn’t appear insurmountable

27. 27 Tips to reach agreements Test your assumptions Bring them out into the open and verify them State your position and your understanding of the other party’s position clearly Are you correct?

28. 28 Tips to reach agreements Search for common ground Once you have identified an outcome you both want, you can begin working with, not against, each other Stick to the facts Becoming personal really heats up a conflict

29. 29 Tips to reach agreements Emphasise the relationship Clearly state that you want a continuing good relationship and work towards it Interpret demands as opportunities Think of demands as a way to spot more ways of resolving the problem, this lessens possible resistance

30. 30 Tips to reach agreements Tackle the easier problems first This is not as a way of avoiding the tough problems The progress you make early on can encourage you to find solutions to the tough ones too

31. 31 Tips to reach agreements Keep a long-term view This keeps things in perspective No verbal ‘weapons’ Pulling rank, threatening, point-scoring or hiding behind corporate ‘policy’ only add fuel to the fire

32. 32 Tips to reach agreements Listen carefully, summarise frequently Let the other person know you have understood their point of view Recap the other’s point of view before disagreeing Foster flexibility and creativity How can you both get what you want? Don’t limit yourself by grasping the first solution that comes to mind

33. 33 Tips to reach agreements Bring in a trusted third party Mediators can often – clarify the issues – deal with the conflict objectively

34. 34 Thinking back Do you understand yourself and those in your team? Can you build and sustain trust and confidence from them? Do you know how to establish and benefit from professional networks? Are you careful with office politics? Are you able to turn conflicts in to agreements?