The Keen Importance of Our Internal Relationships

by John Keyser

In last week’s note, I encouraged us to prioritize in 2015 connecting—truly connecting—with our team members and all co-workers.

I received appreciative feedback from a number of readers that yes, this is an important goal, and we must determine how to allocate our time to do so. This means spending less time in meetings by making our meetings less frequent and more efficient and less time in front of our computers and smart devices.

Connecting with someone is developing a relationship with that person. We do that through conversations, and I believe that the quality of the relationship depends on our attitude and our commitment to respect the person and want to earn their trust and respect. Earn is a key word.

Earning trust and respect requires our humility. It requires us to realize that no matter what our title or position,  we are no better than any else. We are all brothers and sisters in life.

It also requires that we suppress our ego. We must not have a personal agenda, and we must genuinely care about others and want to help them learn, grow and succeed.

Finally, earning trust and respect requires that we convey positive energy only. We are signal senders, so no talking behind someone’s back or complaining.

Conversations coupled with humility, lack of ego and positive energy enable us to demonstrate our care and appreciation, our encouragement for people to find ways to best do their work, our readiness to help if needed, our asking for their ideas, advice and feedback, and our celebrating their successes, even small successes.

If we can allocate our time to spend more time with our team members, (and with is an operative word), almost certainly our people will have positive energy, be more fully engaged and take a personal as well as a professional interest in their work, service and our company. This is winning organizational culture!