The workforce lives and breath competition. Talent and skill could get you into the professional pool, but strategies help you stay there and get recruited. It doesn’t matter what line of work you are in. Let’s say you are a breast implant surgeon, for example, you would rely heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations. The best way to do that is through relationships. No one is going to want to do a breast implant replacement if they didn’t get a recommendation from someone they knew!
Creating strong professional relationships is one of the vital strategies to succeed in your career, but how can we build these relationships?
Here are some ways that could help you along the way:
- Hone in on your social skills.
One of the most important aspects when it comes to succeeding in your career is having the ability to communicate effectively. Poor interpersonal skills could lead a business to failure, no matter how good its product and service is. Take note: reputation goes a long way. As you represent the company you’re working for, you should be able to embody its mission loudly yet elegantly. How employees act towards other people is the root of a company’s reputation. How you and other employees represent the company impacts how future clients would perceive it.
On another note; how you get along with your colleagues also helps in keeping professional relationships strong. Keeping the communication flowing through the company may serve you right later on, as it could be a source of learning too. Good social skills may help you in doing teamwork, communicating an idea and expressing an opinion.
Having outstanding social skills could help you become successful. If used smartly representing the company and in collaborating with your colleagues.
- Be a source of positivity.
A great play of your strengths and awareness of your weaknesses can help you achieve this. Plain and simple. Don’t speak ill of your colleagues. If they face any physical challenge or limitation, it should not be a ground for humour. They should not be treated inferior because of it. Don’t put them down just to keep yourself afloat. Instead, be the source of light. Help when you can but keep unsolicited efforts to yourself. Don’t overstep boundaries. Keep competition at a healthy level. If there’s anything that creates tension, eliminates it through clarification. Clarify through communication since it is the key to avoiding any kind of dispute. Avoid gossiping.
- Be respectful.
A working space may be composed of people that have different backgrounds gathered to do one purpose, to work. But human beings are complex, opinionated and territorial. Being complex could create a lot of issues, like being disagreeable and contesting, decisive and fickle, stable and restless – all at the same time. Also, many are opinionated emotionally, religiously and politically. They are territorial which means they could get protective, loving and familial. And yet in all of these, there’s a great inclination to procreate, dream and adapt. Therefore, strong professional relationships are built and sustained if all of these are considered with respect. Maintain professional proximity. Never practice verbal abuse nor gender discrimination.
- Be timely.
Being a professional requires you to be punctual in all circumstances at work. Reporting to duty on time and conforming to deadlines is important. In working with a team, tasks are usually correlated. For example, when working with a publishing house, one may not be able to move on, doing his job, of doing a cover of the book if the editor is not yet finished reading and approving the book. In that sense, you have to follow a timeline respective of others’.
On a lighter note, try to squeeze leisure in your schedule to mingle. Giving time in building relationships says a lot about how you give importance to teamwork and others’ capacity to build.
- Exceed their expectations
Give your best each time as you come in every day at work. Apply your people skills to clients professionally and decently. Wear your business attire, uniform or scrubs appropriately. Always keep yourself tidy and presentable. Stand tall and confident while exercising your skills and talent at its full maximum potential. In doing so, you stand as a reflection of how you respect the company or brand that you’re working for. This means you respect your co-workers to show up ready to be in action. Become an inspiration.
Besides these guidelines, strong professional relationships are strengthened by the length of time you have been with your colleagues. A great number of projects may have been shared over time. The process of listening, learning a lot from your partner and giving each other space to grow nurtures relationships to be at its best.
