Why It Matters To Connect with Colleagues At Work
Why is taking time to build strong relationships at work and in your life meaningful?
We all want to live our most joyful lives and impact what we do.
Research studies show that stronger connections and having friends at work have many benefits.
Not only do they significantly impact what we do at work by increasing engagement and creativity in organizations, which leads to better problem-solving and innovation, but they also impact our well-being by helping us live longer and creating more joy. Yes, you read correctly; making better connections will help you live a longer life!
It’s not about the quantity but the quality of our relationships when you go below the surface and truly build stronger relationships that you can count on in your work and personal life.
At work, the stronger your relationships are, the happier you are, and the easier it is to work together, so you are more creative. The stronger your relationships are outside of work, the better your energy is in how you show up to work.
So how can we create more robust, more meaningful relationships?
Our conversations are the gateway to accelerate and strengthen our relationships to help people feel more seen, valued, and understood. Getting to know someone personally is one of the fastest ways to build a solid professional relationship.
It took me a long time to realize this.
As a former marketing leader, I kept work and personal life very separate, so it was a big moment once I saw the power in it. I recall the day that I shared with my team openly about an event I was going to (Burning Man) that I had thought would be met with judgment, and instead, it was met with pure curiosity.
It didn’t hinder my career; it helped it as people walked closer towards me, and I was able to show up much more authentically. Since that day, I shifted how I showed up as a leader, peer, mentor. I took the time to more openly share who I was outside of work and genuinely get to know people for who they are and what they care about, my relationships got so much more robust, and my team’s engagement increased.
This experience inspired me. I saw what was possible when we look at people as humans, having a human experience. And it solidified for me my purpose to help people connect more meaningfully.
So how can you connect more meaningfully in daily conversations?
Here are three simple ways to connect better:
Be Curious
The questions we ask are scientifically proven to affect the quality of our relationships. Asking better, more insightful questions that help you better understand who a person is and what they care about, what they believe, their ideas are, what they might be struggling with, and why.
Tip: If you are meeting someone new or “networking,” rather than asking…“What do you do?”….ASK…“What inspired you to do what you do?”
Listen Mindfully
– Truly listening well means to give someone our entire presence and to listen not to respond but to understand. So often, we rush to and from the next thing and think we can multi-task. This can be a huge barrier to our connection with someone. And our best collaboration and ideas come from when we truly understand what someone else is thinking and feeling!
Tip: Listen fully with genuine intent to understand the other person. Always make eye contact. Wait until they are finished speaking before talking. Reflect on what you heard or felt to make sure the person feels seen before responding with your own opinion.
Tell Stories
– When we tell stories about why something matters to us versus just the facts or data, we can emotionally connect with others. Research shows that people are much more likely to remember us when we share more of a vivid description of why we do what we do and who we are.
Tip: Pay attention to how you answer questions and actively share stories about them. For example, if someone asks you, “how’s your day?” instead of just giving a one-word answer, tell them a story about what a highlight of your day has been and why!
Simple Yet Powerful
These may seem simple (because they are!), but we often don’t practice this in our conversation and miss golden opportunities to connect better. I encourage you to try these three steps today. Take notice of your conversation. How does it feel?
I know from my personal experience that once I unlocked this, I have been able to connect meaningfully with anyone confidently, even in the first 10 minutes, and developed solid and authentic relationships in business and life.
And you are empowered to do the same.
This is a guest post by Lisa Kalfus.
Complimentary gift: To help you accelerate and strengthen your relationships, email Lisa a quick note at connect@firestartconnections.com, and she will send you a free toolkit on the 3 Simple Ways to Connect Better, which includes some of her favorite conversation starter questions!
About Lisa: Lisa Kalfus is a Human Connection Facilitator and Conversation Coach and the founder and Chief Connector of Firestart Connections. She is deeply passionate about helping people create meaningful, authentic relationships by quickly elevating conversations from small talk to real talk to ignite a more connected life and workplace culture.
As the creator of Connection Hour™, a powerful experience that ignites meaningful conversations to deepen relationships, she is on a mission to help teams and individuals have better conversations to connect better with anyone.
To learn more about this powerful virtual experience to improve connectivity on your team in a virtual world, visit: www.connnectionhour.com.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
