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“I can’t talk about that at work.”
“My boss wouldn’t want to hear what I have to say.”
Employees have so many reasons for not talking about meaningful topics at work. Sometimes, they’re tight-lipped simply because giving feedback is difficult. In other cases, they may feel that sharing personal information is inappropriate, or trusting relationships necessary to do so are absent. Maybe the opportunity to explore new relationships simply never arises. And yet, companies are quick to realize that engagement and productivity increase as employee relationships and trust deepen. In a 2017 study by The McKinsey Global Institute, researchers found that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees.
Organizations that value strong working relationships shouldn’t leave the development of those relationships to chance. After all, change rarely happens by itself. High-functioning teams are a result of hard work and groups working together to overcome obstacles or achieve common goals. Through the shared experiences, team members learn more about one another and come to rely on each other. If team development doesn’t happen overnight, or by accident, we must assume that other working relationships won’t happen that way either. When the goal is changing interpersonal dynamics, we have to take ownership and make it happen. Unfortunately, many managers are ill-equipped with the skills and tools to start conversations.
When my kids have been frustrated with a situation–a difficult teacher, a not-so-nice friend, their placement on a team, etc.–I’ve always fallen back on the mantra that you can either change the way you’re thinking about your predicament or you can do something about it. “Doing something” can take many forms–walking away, altering your own behavior, or talking through a situation so you can either come to a shared understanding or a new outcome. Unfortunately, many are woefully ill-equipped with the skills and tools to start conversations.
If you have the budget, hiring a consultant, coach, or team-building professional can do wonders to initiate important conversations, bridge divides, develop common understanding, and build relationships. However, even without deep pockets, you can achieve substantial results with a handful of creative tools. The key is carving out the time that consultant would have demanded and making it happen on your own.
Those new to the idea of building relationships or initiating conversations can feel confident that this range of resources will yield interesting conversations. If you’re addressing an “elephant in the room” or a particularly touchy topic, consider engaging a facilitator or setting up ground rules to make the exercise feel safer. But whatever you do, will likely be better than doing nothing.
The pay-off is worth it according to studies by Gallup, Workplace Research Foundation, Business2Community, and Queens School of Business, as organizations that foster dialogue among colleagues have been proven to achieve greater employee engagement, lower turnover, and higher productivity.
So unzip-it and start talking!
7 Tips for Formulating Great Questions
No gift of the gab? No Worries – questions to build relationships
Getting to Know You — how deep can you go? – ask the right questions depending on how intimate you want to get