5 Key ways to support your people
As an experienced manager or even if you are new to management, interpersonal skills are the intricate subtleties that influence and impact relationships. Here we look at how you can maintain efficient and productive relationships where your team can enjoy achievement and recognition.
Relational skills are at the heart of effective communication and a core strength in team unification for any team member, manager or leader. Yet how much time do we spend to consider, how our decisions and actions can better engage with others? When we get it right it is a natural state where people excel; they are engaged and motivated.
To understand how you can better manage through change your team there are five skills:
- Managing change – the key to influencing others is to anticipate when, and to who, the correct information is passed. Change management is about knowing that new directions, goals and policies can be for a lot of people, intimidating. Typically, we are victims of comfort, we don’t like change. Maximising performance through proper delivery of information, setting objectives and allowing individuals to participate in change is crucial.
- Body language – it is the tell-tale sign. Know what to look for and how to translate the subtle messages that are being sent. The rule of thumb is whatever is on your mind must come out through your body language.
- Building rapport – establishing trust is paramount for being able to effectively influence key decision makers and team members. Develop conversation to balance personal and professional needs and allow others to share their vision and values.
- Assertiveness – to lead by example and display an enthusiasm to resolve issues with a win/win attitude. It changes your presence when others see you as a champion of the team. This characteristic is one of the strongest skills to develop and earns the greatest respect.
- Emotional intelligence – the scope of translating how you feel and the capacity to regulate your emotions. It is how we respond appropriately and how we respond to other’s reactions that are essential for being an effective influencer.
With one powerful word
With these five key ingredients considered the effect can be truly stunning. The benefits rewarding and surprising. These are the skills of the great leaders, people who you want to work with and support. They give purpose to your efforts and make a direction clear, visible and achievable. They ensure communication is open and that other’s points of view are considered and more importantly encouraged.
The word is ‘because’. How many times have others felt left out or confused by a decision simply because – the choice had no explanation. It has been shown that more people comply with a request purely because is led to justify a reason.
Why communication goes wrong
Often there will be problems where understanding a colleague’s point of view. Those tangents that can erupt out of nowhere often catalysed by stress. The first port of call is to build from effective communication, the ability to be honest and express appropriately, your feelings. To say ‘I feel under pressure today’ in a calm voice builds trust with others and shows a willingness to share something personal. This is far better than saying nothing until the complication occurs and causes an over-reaction no-one was expecting.
The point here is that the key to influencing relationships is that often vulnerability, can be a strength. Are you really giving your team your very best or are you just assuming it?
