One of the greatest challenges most supervisors face is gaining the support of fellow supervisors. It is not unusual for a supervisor’s success to depend upon the active cooperation from peers. How to manage that feat confounds new supervisors, in particular. Some supervisors who find this issue challenging place too much focus on the “task” aspects of the request and spend too little time developing a productive, ongoing relationship with their peers. How do you build the sort of rapport with your peers that ensures cooperation?
Care About Your Peer’s Problems
- Do you know what is important to your peer? Do you know what they are really after and what their priorities are? If you don't, you may be overlooking an area of potential conflict.
- Do you know anything personal about them? Are they a parent? What's happening with their family? What do they like to do during off-hours? Get to know the complete person, while being mindful of their comfort level of self-disclosure.
- Is your current relationship positive, neutral, or negative with that person? If it is negative ask yourself, "What could happen if this relationship continues to be bad or gets worse? Will it make it harder for me to do my job? Will our negativity impact our customers, patients, or students?” Don’t wait for the other person to make the first move. Reach out first to strengthen the relationship.
Be Transparent
Communicate clearly what you want. First be clear with yourself about your needs and expectations because if you’re not clear in your own mind, you won’t have much chance to get what you need and expect from your peer. Then make sure you’ve been understood correctly. Take the time to prepare for your conversation with your peer. Anticipate their questions, and listen openly to their concerns. Be flexible with your expectations and ready to negotiate commitments and deadlines.
Never Manipulate
Most people are considered manipulative if they have a hidden agenda. When seeking cooperation from your peers, don’t withhold information. If you cannot be completely forthcoming, provide an explanation of why you can’t divulge more information. People respect a sincere attempt at influence, but they resent feeling as if they have been deceived.
Give More Than You Take
The best work relationships feature a reciprocal give-and-take. Give as much as you can with no immediate expectation of return in mind. When you take the time to make a connection, you’ll be in a better position to accomplish more together over the long term.
Building Rapport is a Process, Not a Pit Stop
You’ll garner resentment and resistance if your peer never sees you unless you want something. Touch base with your peer supervisors frequently. Strengthen your connection with authentic interest in their areas, and build trust by letting them get to know you as well.
Project management skills and focusing on results are always important and helpful in getting work done. Just remember that building relationships with the people you need to support you can never be over-emphasized.
Reading Material and Workshops
Building Professional Relationships
Developing Professional Relationships is about presenting yourself in a way that shows you keep an open mind and maintain open and honest communication, and that you stick to your convictions as diplomatically as possible.
This workshop is designed to discuss and practice strategies to:
· Define professionalism
· Identify ways appropriate behavior can benefit the individual as well as the organization
· Demonstrate behavior in the workplace that shows respect and consideration for others
· Develop proper guidelines to communicate with others in face-to-face, phone, and written interactions
· Deal with negativity from coworkers
· Understanding the impact of incivility
· Deal with conflict
Please contact Debra Graham at 257-9427 for additional information.
Building a Climate of Trust
This workshop is intended for those who lead others (supervisors, managers, etc.) and deals with creating a trusting workplace environment. Upon completion, participants will be able to:
· Recognize the leader's role in developing a climate of trust.
· Identify their negative assumptions and the impact their assumption have on the behavior of their employees.
· Identify the steps involved in the Cycle of Mistrust.
· Develop strategies to build trust in the workplace.
For additional consultation or class instruction please contact: Marietta Watts
Next scheduled class time(s):
· Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 8:30am
Communicating with Success
During this workshop, we will explore basic communication issues.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
· Define the three communication modes.
· Cite barriers to effective communication.
· Explain the concept of distinct communication styles.
· Define active listening.
· Use active listening techniques.
· Define non-verbal communication issues.
· Use non-verbal techniques to improve workplace communication.
For additional consultation or class instruction please contact: Maria Fischer-Boothe
Next scheduled class time(s):
· Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - 1:00pm
· Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - 1:00pm
Reading Materials
It's Not All About Me: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Quick Rapport with Anyone by Robin Dreeke
Despite the age-old saying, individuals everywhere still have a hard time realizing that it’s not all about them. Robin Dreeke uses his research and years of work in the field of interpersonal relations and behavior to help readers focus on building relationships with others in “It’s Not All About Me: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Quick Rapport with Anyone”.
As the head of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Program within the Counterintelligence Division, Dreeke has used the techniques listed in “It’s Not All About Me” with skilled professionals within the FBI as well as with sales professionals, educators and individuals across the country and world. He knows the information provided will apply to business professionals of all sectors, those just entering the workforce and those leading companies.
“It’s Not All About Me” offers readers a look into the human mind, explaining how it really works. From reading body language to massaging egos in order to learn more information, Dreeke provides techniques he’s tested and mastered when it comes to building rapport with others. In some aspects, Dreeke’s “It’s Not All About Me” is about the individual and his wants, goals, desires and dreams. The 10 techniques covered in this guide will help readers achieve their goals by treating others well and placing communal wants and needs above individual ones. Dreeke believes the short and simple nature of his guide to building rapport makes the points easy to understand and adapt to one’s life.
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant
For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return. Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's youngest tenured professor, Adam Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, Grant shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed--without ever looking at a single number.
Strategic Relationships at Work: Creating Your Circle of Mentors, Sponsors, and Peers for Success in Business and Life
With job mobility increasing, globalization expanding,
and technology advancing, you need more than a steady job and a solid network to keep your career on track. You need mentors--to learn and to grow--whether you're just starting out, are firmly established, or at the top of your profession. Everyone has something to learn, and everyone has something to teach.
Introducing Strategic Relationships at Work: the first comprehensive mentoring guide written specifically for 21st-century career building, this entrepreneurial approach to work relationships addresses the key issues of our time:
- Job Mobility: How to make personal connections you can transfer from job to job
- Globalization: What you can learn from new mentors in a larger global context
- Technology: How to engage with the latest advances in social media and technology
- Pace of Change: What you can do to keep up--with a little help from your friends
Using simple tools and proven strategies, this essential guide shows you how to leverage the relationships you already have to map out a new developmental network that grows with your career. You'll learn the secrets of companies with excellent developmental cultures, including IBM, Procter & Gamble, Sodexo, and KPMG. You'll discover the most effective ways to develop new talent in your workplace through formal programs that leverage mentors, sponsors, coaches, reverse mentors, and mentoring circles. You'll learn how leaders create work cultures where both formal and informal mentoring thrive. And you'll find handy charts and checklists to assess your work, your relationships, and your career path.