By building great relationships, you will shift the baseline way up. So that when you need to manage, it will be so much easier. Think how climbing a mountain from sea level is so much harder than from a camp half-way up.
And is isn't hard - it's more about focusing on people, who they are and what interests them. And that's just where you spend your time. About them - not you, not your business. Create partnerships.
5 tips
Be natural - by being yourself, you will build relationships with ease. Trust yourself - let yourself go. Be open, share your feelings, but mostly, listen to others. Ask questions - you will find out more about others by listening to what they have to say, so be nosy, ask open questions, find out stuff. Then ask more about what they have been telling you. Show integrity - by ensuring that others can trust you, by following through with promises and being discreet, people will be more open with you and that is the doorway to great relationships. Do what you say you will do. Match - nothing helps build relationships by matching tone, volume of voice. By taking the same body posture. By paying attention to their eyes (whilst nor staring). Have fun - nothing works better to build relationships than by having a foundation of a fun time together. So laugh, take time to 'play' and be informal. Take part.
5 Questions
What do you know about your people outside the business? When was the last time you asked them about something important to them? What percentage of your people do you speak to every day? Who have you shared your hopes, fears, worries and excitements about your organisation with this week? What three steps can you take to build relationships between you and your people - in the next three working days?There is no time like the present to start and to focus on Relationship Building. It is the basis of all you do when you manage others.
Copyright 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)
Succession Planning - 10 Vital Points for Business Success
Succession Planning isn't just about preparing for boardroom changes or grooming your son or daughter to take over when you want to retire. It's much more about how those managing others create seamless changeovers, preparing who you have, for opportunities that might present themselves.
Ten Business Reasons Why Asking for Help Works
When you are in charge of a team, or a business, it is easy to fall into the trap of being invincible. Asking for help is something that's easy to do - yet, to the uninitiated, it feels like a weakening position. But there are a number of reasons that is not so.
Know Your Client - The First Rule of Business Coaching
Whilst the very best coaches have ... ... ... training and or have years of ... with clients, new ... ... are coming ... which is evolving
