6 Goals for Healthy Professional Relationships
The main goal in any type of relationship is to be united no matter what problem may come your way. To see the best qualities in each other, to find and execute ways to grow together and develop a mutual respect for one another. Healthy professional relationships, I believe, are hard to come by these days. This is especially true when it comes to relationships between management and their employees. Too often we see work environments that enable negative unprofessional behavior. It is almost as if everyone is out for themselves and no one else matters. How are you supposed to run a cohesive business this way?
Newsflash…you can’t.
Healthy professional relationships should be the top priority for every business. When the relationships between your people are cohesive and working well, that energy transfers into business flow. There are 6 goals you can achieve to help you build healthy professional relationships.
To Fight the Problem, Not Each Other — One of the main things I’ve seen in the workplace is employees and management clashing with each other. Every business has their issues, but they should be addressed professionally. In some cases, addressing them as a team may be necessary also. Instead, people argue about who’s right or wrong in how to address the issue and it never gets addressed. Remember you are on the same side and the issue is the enemy, not your teammates. When both management and their employees can keep this in mind, they will be better able to navigate challenges that arise in the workplace.
To Grow Professionally and Build Together — Everyone wants to find a career that they can grow and move up in. But in order to have this type of career, you and your company must have the same goals and be like minded. You have to create a culture of support and encouragement for your staff, otherwise they will find someplace else. Have you heard the phrase “what you won’t do for your partner someone else will?” Well, the same goes for the workplace. No one wants to jump from one company to another but unfortunately that happens when management isn’t great at building relationships with their employees. Finding a company or an employee that has similar values and goals is a great start to building a positive professional relationship. This will help the employee to grow professionally and help the employer to retain quality talent and continue to grow their business.
Develop a Mutual Respect — In the corporate world humanity and humbleness can get lost among the money, professional titles and “Business needs”. Remembering to show respect to your colleagues no matter if they report to you or vice versa, is important because without respect there won’t be a solid foundation to build your professional relationship. If an employee doesn’t feel respected, they are less likely to put their best foot forward when it comes to productivity. When management doesn’t feel respected, they’re less likely to be understanding to their employees.
Establish boundaries — Even though you want to create a connection with colleagues and employees, it is important to have boundaries in place to keep a certain level of professionalism. Discussing family or your favorite shows is okay but remember when to snap back into your professional mode when it’s time to handle business. If you are someone that is in higher management it is necessary to keep boundaries with employees and colleagues, so they do maintain a level of respect for you, especially if you are a leader within your company. We can be friendly with each other, but also must keep in mind that to have healthy relationships at work, our boundaries are still important. If you don’t want to be talked to a certain way or need time and space to get a project done, you can absolutely speak up for your boundaries and your needs.
Encourage positivity — Things can become unbearable at work sometimes and maintaining a positive front can be difficult. However, promoting positivity among colleagues and employees is important to keeping team morale up and keeping productivity steady. If you start to project your negative emotions onto others in the workplace it can potentially cause a snowball effect of negativity within others. Keeping things light and positive whenever possible is another form of showing and maintaining healthy professional relationships.
To Feel Understood and Valued — In any relationship you want to know that you matter and that’s no different when it comes to professional relationships. Again, being respected and valued in the workplace can go a long way among employees. Being heard by their employer is another important aspect because no one wants to feel like they’re expressing themselves and no one is listening. Knowing that they can communicate with their employer about certain issues is vital to the development of their professional relationship. Having this open line of communication and respect among colleagues is important as well.
Remember, maintaining healthy positive relationships will show up in the way that your business starts to run. Respect, communication and remaining positive can create an amazing work environment and encourage others to give their best to their business and team members.