In an era of boundary – less organisations, going beyond the confines of your cubicle to meet and greet seems like an order of the day. Having a healthy interpersonal relationship at work has its own share of benefits. Both for an individual as well as the organisation at large. Interpersonal relationship is a bond between two or more individuals. Depending upon causality, it may be brief in duration or enduring. Why is it important at workplace?
“In today’s environment, the workplace dynamics has led to the need of communicating with people sitting beyond one’s own cabin/cubicle at work. Having good interpersonal relationship helps in getting one’s work done in a better way than staying closed in a cubicle”
Employers today have a craving for employees with excellent interpersonal skills. It surely helps to achieve effective communication within the organization. This, in turn, collectively contributes to better productivity. Additionally, these skills are an imperative factor that influences one’s career growth. Now that it is established that having good interpersonal skills is essential, we need to look at how one can develop these skills.
Cultivating a skill needs patience and practice. One can start off with having a positive attitude. Forward-looking perspective showcases maturity and confidence in one’s actions. It is as simple as smiling at your colleagues, chirping in with cheerful greetings and engaging in positive gestures around workplace. Furthermore, appreciating the work of peers reflects a positive attitude. Looking beyond the elementary, one needs to inculcate the essence of inclusiveness at work, master the art of communication, grasp a few managing tactics and have easy ways to solve problems in order to have advanced interpersonal skills. We will look about the aforementioned in detail below.
Inclusiveness in Workplace
It is always advisable to include all the team members working with you. Listening to others’ opinion is as important as writing down an exhaustive ideation strategy. Collaboration is always advisable than working alone. And cooperation is a mutual factor. Others will cooperate with you only if you are open to extending your help in their need. A social harmony is required in the society as well as at the workplace. You must encourage inclusiveness before starting any project. This kind of stimulating environment will lead you to your success and will help you in long term.
Communication Skills
Before delving deeper into managing interpersonal relationship, we have to understand the key aspects of building a strong foundation for any relationship. To convey one’s message effectively is perhaps the most important aspect of social skills. And, to do so without creating any conflict is as necessary as one’s sound communication skills. Active listening is also undoubtedly a crucial aspect to communication.
There are two ways of communication, verbal and nonverbal. One needs to listen very thoughtfully before reacting. As an old adage sums it up – “A good communicator is always a good and thoughtful listener”. Before giving your opinion on something, it is always advisable to listen thoughtfully. Then, you will know what you are saying and what the conversation is all about, keeping your relevance intact.
- Verbal Communication: Verbal communication comprises of any form of communication, which involves words as a means to deliver a message, be it spoken or written like the conversations we usually have with our co-workers, clients or bosses. You should communicate effectively. Conveying what you mean is necessary to your professional as well as personal life.
- Non-verbal Communication: Non-verbal and verbal communication goes hand in hand with each other. Studies show that non-verbal communication contributes to almost 60% of the total communication, making it too crucial to be missed for one who wants to improve communication skills. Non-verbal communication includes many things like your body language, your facial expressions, eye contact, your voice and tone, your posture, dressing sense and the way you make gestures while communicating. So, you should also keep in mind these aspects.
Using Managing Manoeuvres
There are certain situations which may lead to friction between you and your co-worker while you are on duty. Should you react offensively? Ofcourse, not. If there are adverse conditions, you will have to hide your emotions to avoid any negative impact on the project. Do not bring your personal tensions to work. Think before you speak. Skip the “E” in your ego and let it “go”.
Problem-solving Tactics
Conflicts are persistent in workplaces where there are lots of ideas to deal with. Being a part of such an environment, one should ideally not look at solving the problem in the quickest possible way. Instead, one should speculate the problem and come up with ways in which the problem can be resolved. Now that the ways to solve the problem is accomplished, one must go ahead with applying the solutions to solve the problem. With objectives set up along with proper strategies being paved, the implementation of the plan can be done followed by examining its success.
The work environment, per say, can be a replica of what you do in your day-to-day life. And, management skills are very important to deal with a situation efficiently. So managing emotions are a must for a healthy work environment.
As a concluding note, developing interpersonal relationship at workplace is just not about climbing up the corporate ladder. It is more important to feel happy and encouraged while working. One should be inspired every morning to go to office and bring a positive change in this world.
