The first step in developing your interpersonal relationships is to give and ask for feedback. Do you want to know why and learn about other important steps? Keep reading!
Do you already know what interpersonal relationships are? Probably, if you were in any type of organization, you must have already heard this term.
Interpersonal relationships are basically relationships between people in different contexts.
And one of the main contexts in which this issue comes to light is the corporate environment, mainly because the relationships in this space are complex. This happens because the relationships between employees and between them and their leaders have a direct influence on work.
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In other words, everyone must be attentive to their professional relationships, taking into account both the quality of the work and the evolution of the career.
Therefore, when we talk about interpersonal relationships, we refer to knowing how to relate. Precisely, it is about the ability to relate well.
It has nothing to do with personality or personal characteristics. Actually, it is an aptitude that can be worked on and improved by everyone.
Next, we are going to show you a little more about interpersonal relationships at work and what are the steps you can take to improve yours. Shall we start?
What are interpersonal relationships at work?
Whether in the corporate environment () or in customer relations, to live well and without problems, you have to know how to treat people.
Interpersonal relationships work like a kind of game at work, in which if you are not careful with the rules, or if you make a mistake in a move, your development can be harmed.
In addition, the company is also harmed, as relationship problems influence and hinder the good progress of business.
Therefore, every professional must keep in mind the importance of taking care of professional relationships based on their career and their own experience within the company.
When there are good relationships in the work environment, people feel happier and .
But, we know that it is not so easy to always maintain positive relationships, because the corporate environment is very competitive. In addition, each person who is there has different experiences and particularities.
So, as we said, knowing how to maintain good relationships is not 100% natural. It’s like a game in which whoever wants to continue playing and win has to make an effort to achieve it.
Fortunately, this effort is worth it and brings positive results, look how good it is!
Why is it important to have good interpersonal relationships?
- you get along better with your work colleagues;
- you feel more motivated;
- you will have someone to count on if you need help;
- your performance improves;
- you have more chances to grow in your career;
- you will probably be more admired professionally.
On the other hand, companies also benefit a lot when there are good interpersonal relationships between employees, leaders, customers and suppliers.
Therefore, for them, it is important to encourage and generate positive results for the business.
Advantages of having good interpersonal relationships
- improves the organizational climate;
- increased employee productivity;
- lower employee turnover;
- more satisfied customers;
- higher business profitability.
How to improve interpersonal relationships?
Well, by now you should have understood exactly what interpersonal relationships are and their importance in the work environment.
Now, we are going to show you, step by step, how to develop this skill.
It may be that you just need some suggestions. Then, identify and put into practice what you most need to work on in order to achieve the ability to establish relationships.
1. Create a culture of feedback
The culture of constant feedback is an excellent way to develop at work and stimulate communication with the team.
By giving and asking for feedback, you show your co-workers your interest in the relationship. Giving feedback shows that you want to help, ask for it, that the other’s opinion is important to you.
You have advantages, right?
2. Learn to handle differences
It cannot be denied that we live in a world with a lot of diversity, there are people of all types and personalities, everything can change depending on the person. And that is very good: diversity makes the work environment a better, more innovative and creative place.
Despite this, it may be that we are not used to living with very different people. But don’t worry, it’s something you can work on.
To have a better coexistence with your colleagues, you have to be willing to open your mind and learn to live with diversity.
That will help you to have good interpersonal relationships and will also improve your day to day life.
In addition, you will also see that you can learn a lot from the experiences of different people, and this is good for developing your cognitive skills.
3. Be resilient
The , in the professional sense, means knowing how to adapt to changes and adversities from day to day. In other words, to have better relationships at work, you also need to be flexible in case something goes wrong.
An example of a typical situation: you work on a project that needs to be approved by a team and, after approval, an adverse situation arises and they ask you to do again what you had already finished.
They make you want to insult everyone, and this is where resilience comes in. Have a little patience mixed with wisdom, try to understand what happened and communicate with the team to find solutions together.
It is not easy, but with a lot of practice and willpower, you transform it into something natural.
However, do not confuse being resilient with accepting anything, even injustice. This is another matter, which is why the wisdom of trying to understand the reason for adversity is a key point of resilience.
4. Ask for help and be helpful
It may seem silly, but asking for help reinforces interpersonal relationships in the work environment.
If you know someone is an expert in something you’re unsure about or want to learn about, talk to them.
That attitude brings people closer, because at work we don’t have much contact with each other’s personal lives, so it’s hard to start a conversation. Asking for help can be a great way to get closer to someone.
Being helpful comes more or less this way. It is a way of showing that you are there to help others and that you care about teamwork. In addition to being also a very good approach strategy.
5. Bet on non-violent communication
Many times we do not realize it, but the way we communicate with others can sound violent.
This oversight is terrible and destroys working relationships that should be good.
Therefore, being aware of how you communicate is extremely important for good interpersonal relationships.
To find out if you have a violent form of communication, start by observing the way you talk to people.
If you perceive problems such as lack of clarity, imposition, order and judgement, try applying these suggestions to start practicing non-violent communication:
- make observations instead of judgments;
- Express your feelings;
- expresses motives and needs;
- ask instead of order.
In this way, your communication will be more effective, generous and empathic. Consequently, you will have better relationships with your work colleagues.
6. Stay open to interaction
Even if you are a more introverted person, do not let this characteristic hinder your interpersonal relationships.
It may seem difficult, but it is very simple. Try not to isolate yourself and stay open to interaction, that is, talk when they come to talk to you.
It begins with a simple “good morning” and a general goodbye. Over time, create the habit of making daily and constant interactions in order to strengthen relationships.
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7. Avoid conflicts
Ok, problems, disagreements and dead ends are always going to come up. But, be careful so that situations like this do not hinder good relationships.
Take a deep breath and think carefully before you say something when you’re angry. Always remember your main objective: to have an atmosphere of good coexistence at work.
8. Do not bring personal problems to the work environment
This is classic! We all go through struggle days, don’t we?
Ideally, though, you shouldn’t let non-work issues affect your professional relationships.
Therefore, try not to bring personal problems to work so you don’t end up taking it out on someone who has nothing to do with the situation you’re facing.
If you need to, take the day off or tell your colleagues that you’re not having a good day.
9. Learn to forgive
As much as the conflict already exists, there is a way out.
Forgiveness is the way to restore relationships and show that you fight for a good coexistence in the work environment.
So, think about the time to forgive and also to ask for forgiveness in the name of good interpersonal relationships.
10. Know yourself
Last but not least, we have self-knowledge. A very important step to know how to relate well.
We talk about interpersonal relationships here, but just as important as this are also intrapersonal relationships, which is basically getting to know oneself.
Your relationship with others is part of who you are. So, nothing more fair than developing your self-knowledge to perfect external relationships.
Since we are talking about this, one way to achieve good self-knowledge is self-assessment. Therefore, we leave you some tips to make one and boost your professional development. Look at them!
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