Management Development - Building better working relationships

by Lucy Cadman @ Developing People Ltd

I have said it hundreds of times before, but I am blessed with a manager who has read the rulebook. Not only that, but he puts it into practise daily too!

He expresses an interest in my hobbies (despite being a self-confessed “two-left-footer” when it comes to dancing!) to the point of letting me talk him to death about the technicalities of each performance on Strictly Come Dancing every Monday morning, and even to the point of letting me bring my entire collection of spiders into the office for a couple of days so that his children could meet them! He takes a daily interest in everything that I am working on (and is always willing to learn new things), has a smile, has a smile for everyone no matter what stressful events may be unfolding, and is always the first one to say sorry if something goes pear-shaped. As a result, his team pulls out all the stops for him, and will happily go the extra mile whenever it is required.

Whilst it is of course very important for a manager to have a wide range of appropriate technical expertise relating to their role and the roles of their staff, it is also critical that a good manager is capable of building solid relationships with their team, because as a manager, you must be able to rely on the support of others in achieving team goals and objectives.

If you have poor working relationships with your peers or your team, it is unlikely that they will support your ideas, or that you will support theirs. If you don’t support each other, disunity will grow and fester, and the team will begin to disintegrate and disengage with each other. A disengaged team will produce poor and lacklustre work, because no one’s heart is in what they are doing.

It is important for a manager to set the tone for relationships within the team, and the most important key to creating and improving relationships with others is to be able to see yourself how others see you, and to be able to understand the impact that your behaviour has on others. For example, while humour is an important aspect of working life, continual sarcasm can be hurtful and may alienate people causing you to loose their support.

Feedback on your personal style as a manager can be gained in a number of ways, for example by:

* Asking a trusted colleague of their impressions of your style and impact in different situations.
* Collecting feedback from staff during performance appraisal interviews.
* Using a more formal feedback instrument such as 360 degree feedback

Once you have some evidence about how your behaviour impacts others, you can begin to alter it to build better and more productive relationships. The following tips may help:

* Take an active interest in others, for example in their tastes and interests.
* Be friendly and positive when you meet someone for the first time.
* Use open body gestures and smile more.
* Ask people directly how work / home / college etc is going for them.
* Listen to the answers that people give when you ask a questions.
* Focus on people’s positive points rather than their weaknesses.
* Apologise if you make a mistake.
* Be less judgemental in your day to day dealings with people.
* Spend more time listening and talking to people over coffee, lunch etc.
* Help other people when they are in difficulty or struggling with someone.

Finally, and probably the most importantly, is to check that you are being courteous to others at all times. How often do you greet people when you see them, even in passing? How often do you say thank you?

Following these simple tips will help you build better relationships both inside and outside work. And if your relationships with each member of your team are good, then their relationships with each other are also likely to be productive, as people will follow the example that they are set.

If you would like more information about developing your skills as a Manager, then please telephone Developing People Limited on 0845 409 2346 or send an email to markevenden@developingpeople.co.uk.