Relationship Building.
A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP
A working relationship is based on policies and procedures. These are set out by contracts of employment and codes of practice. That means any professional relationship should follow this simple rule. Act first as an employee and a professional, and then as a personal individual. This can sometimes be hard. You will have co-workers who surpass working relationship ranks and become intimate ‘out-of-work’ friends. However, even when you like someone as a person, within the workplace, your relationship has very definable and mandated boundaries. How strict these boundaries are is dependent on your workplace and industry. Some workplaces have very lax limitations on working relationships. One famous example is the hospitality industry. The nature of customer service means that workers often blur professional boundaries because of the emotional labor involved.
What is a personal relationship then?
If a working relationship is defined by the value of the relationship to one’s career: then a personal relationship is grounded in the value of personal connection. It is altruistic. You like a person and share a history, interests, and values. There are no rules, and that is what makes it a personal and intimate relationship.
How to build and maintain a professional network;
Staying connected and developing professional relationships takes time, work, and strategy. While trying to improve my professional connections, here are a few things I’ve learned that help speed up the process;
Improve Your Communication Skills; It will be nearly impossible to build better professional relationships if your communication skills are not effective or even nonexistent. Communicating isn’t just about talking to someone or hearing them when they speak. You both have to understand what the other person is saying.
Slow down when you talk, ask questions when someone else is speaking to you, and if you repeat back what you’re hearing to ensure you both are on the same page. Poor communication is at the crux of many workplace issues, including low morale, increased stress, and failure to meet deadlines.
Respect Others; This is right up there with improving communication skills.
If there is one thing most people can’t tolerate, it’s feeling disrespected, whether at home, at work, or by the barista at the coffee shop.
When trying to build better relationships, always remember to follow the golden rule and treat others as you would want to be treated. This means being courteous, using non-offensive language, and respecting people’s time.
Respond to Feedback Positively; You can talk about growth and improvement as much as you want, but if you can’t take feedback with a grain of salt and you don’t know how to give others constructive feedback, you won’t be able to progress past where you currently are. Giving feedback to others opens the door to establishing a deeper rapport. Receiving feedback from others is an opportunity for you to address specific issues that may be hindering your professional development. Feedback is ultimately about perspective and will help you learn how to see things from different angles.
Be Empathetic; Contrary to what it sometimes feels like, developing better professional relationships isn’t about always proving you’re better than others. In fact, being empathetic to others, especially those who may be in a position that’s subordinate to yours, will go a long way in solidifying relationships. Instead of feeling smug because you did something better or knew something someone didn’t use the experience as a teaching opportunity and a chance to support someone else.
Celebrate Others; It can be easy to feel envious of someone else’s achievements, especially if you’ve been working hard on something of your own. But instead of feeling annoyed or jealous, congratulate the person. If you get a notice on a platform like LinkedIn that it’s a work anniversary or they’ve gotten some award, use it as a chance to catch up. Showing genuine interest and sending congrats also opens the door to ask questions or seek advice on what they’ve been doing effectively.
Seek Opinions; One of the main reasons we network with people is to take advantage of their experience, skills, or knowledge at some point in time, even if it’s just reading articles they post. You shouldn’t email blast everyone on your contact list regularly (or you’ll find yourself losing contacts left and right). However, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have a real need for their opinion or advice. Be sure to inquire about them, too, and always be courteous and close with a thank you.
Get Coffee; If you’re trying to build more of a rapport with a professional contact, try to take it off the page. Suggest meeting for a coffee and set a specific time so they know you aren’t planning on chatting their ear off for two hours on a Sunday morning. If you travel a lot for work, do your best to grab a cup of joe with connections in other cities while you’re there. If non-formal meetings are more your thing.
Check-In; You might not always have something specific in mind to talk about or ask about. That’s fine. You can always drop a note to check in. This works well with people you’ve briefly met or talked to once or twice but doesn’t have an established relationship yet. Keep it short and to the point and thank them for their time.
Do Some Housekeeping; Let’s be honest, we connect with so many people on professional networking sites it’s easy to lose track of who’s who. Don’t worry, if you don’t recognize a connection, you’re not alone. Set aside sometime maybe once a month to perform connection housekeeping. You don’t have to go through your entire list, especially if you’ve got hundreds of connections, but go through a section and re-introduce yourself to those you don’t know or don’t remember. Just remember it’s also important to give your contacts a break. If you reach out with a question and they don’t respond, don’t follow up by suggesting coffee.
PERSONALITY TYPES IN A WORKPLACE
Each personality type approaches their job from a different angle. They solve issues, seek recognition and interact completely differently than the other personality types. It is necessary to understand your own personality type and then proceed to understand the personality types of your coworkers to create and maintain professional relationships. Here are the main personality types found in workplaces;
THE ANALYTICAL; When thinking about the Analytical personality, think of the scientist. The Analytical person is normally neat and orderly and approaches situations with a fully formed plan. They are quiet and often enjoy working alone. These individuals are often perfectionists. On the negative side, these are the individuals that can appear moody, judgmental, and seemingly unable to make decisions. The problem is they tend to over-analyze and take time to make a decision. You can get a better reaction from the Analytical person by keeping your voice calm and asking, rather than telling them, what you want. Then, step back and give them a chance to think about it before they give their answer.
THE DRIVER; These are the natural leaders that step up and take control. They hate to see something that needs to be done and nobody doing it. The Driver is energetic, positive and the visionary of all the personality types. They don’t give up quickly or easily. With the need to keep busy and keep pushing forward, the Driver can often appear uncaring and is prone to sarcasm. Their manner can appear harsh to the sensitive personalities in the workplace. The best way to get along with Drivers is to approach them with the willingness to get to work on the task yesterday. Be willing to acknowledge their strengths and ability and don’t hand them excuses for why something isn’t done.
THE AMIABLE; The Amiable person is often the most-liked person in the workplace. They always have a kind, encouraging word, are quiet and agreeable, and try to avoid conflict at all costs. These are the company peacemakers who wonder why everyone can’t “just get along”. On the other hand, the Amiable personality can lend itself to stubbornness when things aren’t as the individual believes they should be. These individuals are the most likely to be passive-aggressive when angry. They rarely express anger directly. To get the best from the Amiable person, be kind and don’t overwhelm them with too much — noise, tasks, anything. Encourage them to take chances.
THE EXPRESSIVE; Often loud, fast talkers, the Expressive personality is the company jokester. They love to have fun and want those around them to join in. The Expressive personality is the one that gathers enthusiasm for a project, convinces investors that a project will be successful, and is genuinely interested in being part of a team. The Expressive person is not very organized. They are great idea people and great at getting others involved but they are often at a loss when it comes to knowing how to make those ideas into reality. To gain favor with the Expressive, be willing to laugh at a joke, get enthusiastic about what they are talking about and include them in your projects, both inside and outside the workplace.
How to Get the Most Out of Understanding Personalities
Knowing the different personality types is interesting and can be fun, but they are useless unless you take the time to put this knowledge to use, both towards yourself and towards others.
START WITH YOU: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES; First, consider how knowledge can make you a better person. Learn your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to find ways your strengths can move you forward and create the kind of environment you are happiest in. Knowing your weaknesses will help you know where you can modify your behavior to grow and realize a happier, more successful life, both in the workplace and outside of it.
LEARN WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO OTHER PERSONALITY TYPES;
By applying what you know to those who surround you, you gain a better understanding of how and why they do the things they do. This enables you to know how best to approach them and gain their cooperation. It also helps you avoid or lessen conflicts so that productivity and morale do not suffer. By understanding both yourself and your co-workers, you create a work environment that benefits everyone. This is especially true of supervisors. Knowing the personalities of each of your employees will enable you to make decisions regarding them in a more informed fashion. It will help you gain their cooperation and allow them the acknowledgment they seek to give their best work.
Benefits of Understanding Personality Types
Knowing and understanding the various personality types offers many benefits. These benefits are not only useful in the workplace but can also help you navigate the world outside of work, improving relationships of every type. Let’s take a look at some of the other benefits.
IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING ABILITIES; Knowing your personality type helps your decision-making skills. For example, if you are more inclined to use your “gut” feeling, trying to make a decision based solely on logic will be difficult and may not result in the answer that fits you best. Conversely, if your personality type uses reasoning, making a decision based entirely on feeling may be unreliable.
AVOID CONFLICT WHEN IT ARISES; Conflict arises when two personality types get stuck in their own method of thinking and can’t see a situation from a different angle. Every personality also has both positive and negative traits that determine how they deal with conflict. Knowing that you tend to over-focus on the how and ignore the why in a conflict, you can use this knowledge to back up a bit and try to approach the conflict from a different angle. If you know you tend to react without thinking, you can make an effort to think before you speak, realizing how a brash action may make the situation worse.
LEARN TO APPRECIATE DIVERSITY; By understanding your own personality type better, you start to realize the reasoning behind why others approach things a different way or respond from what may seem a foreign place in your eyes. You start becoming aware of what personality traits the others around you are operating with and this helps you see things from their perspective easier. It also shows you how approaching things with different reactions or with a different mindset can also have advantages.
HELP ALIGN YOUR CAREER PATH; Every career has a built-in personality type that is best suited to be happy and successful in it. Knowing your own personality type will help you narrow down the choices and enable you to focus on the career that best meshes with your personality. For example, sales require a personality that loves people, enjoys talking, and can be somewhat persistent. If you are a person who likes to work alone and has a “to each his own” mindset, you are not going to be happy selling insurance. On the other hand, a career in computer programming may suit you fine. A person who enjoys being around people and facing a variety of situations would be miserable as an accountant. Focusing on the traits a person needs to perform a certain job will enable you to find a career that works well with your personality and won’t have you regretting facing each day.