By Felix C. Veroya
It is important to have strong, healthy business relationships to excel in the workplace. For the last decade of my professional career, I always ensure that I have built strong and lasting relationships. Believe me, it is an essential aspect that you must learn as a professional working in the corporate and even as an entrepreneur.
These five tips are a great way to start off your business relationships on the right foot.
1. Take an interest in their career – Appearing disinterested or disconnected will hurt your chances of forming a genuine and lasting friendship with your colleague. It is easy to fake it until you make it, but really try and focus on listening without interrupting too much when meeting someone new for the first time at work.
2. Respect confidentiality – A healthy business relationship means respecting boundaries and not using sensitive information shared with you as fuel for gossip with others in the office or outside this context completely. It is your job to protect the company’s reputation and there is no need to share confidential information that you have been entrusted with.
3. Ask questions – It is important that you take an interest in what your colleagues are up to, and particularly their progress at work. This will help you to know how they feel about their job and develop better working relationships with them. Take an interest in other people’s careers and see what kind of opportunities are available for them. Also remember not being afraid of taking a compliment, this will often go a long way towards making someone like you or showing appreciation for a good work done, as well as giving you some insight into the individual interests of those around you at work too!
4. Be a team player – When working with people you can work in teams, making it easier to see what different people bring to the table in a professional sense. When you are working as a team, you can get the best out of each other and more easily accommodate each other’s needs and strengths.
5. Be able to communicate effectively – There is no point in trying to build up relationships if you cannot communicate effectively with your colleagues and clients. Making it a priority to learn about the needs of others, their backgrounds and what motivates them will help to make you a better worker and put you in a better position to talk with people when they have an issue or problem. To stay strong in your workplace relationships, be sure to respect the boundaries of confidentiality and work well as part of an effective team!
Follow these steps and see how it works for you and your business relationships.
For questions, concerns, advises and speaking engagements, please send an email to fcveroya@asklexph.com or visit asklexph.com/courses for free e-learning courses for professional development.
