A healthy workplace culture is one where people have positive relationships with each other. It’s a place where people can trust each other, listen to each other, respect each other, and influence each other. A workplace where relationships are strained and toxic can be a recipe for disaster. Therefore, it’s essential to focus on building healthy relationships in the workplace. Here, we’ll dive into Echelon Front‘s Relationship Framework. It focuses on Trust, Listen, Respect, and Influence, to help you grow healthy workplace relationships.
Maintain a Foundation of Trust
Trust is the foundation of any relationship. When there’s a lack of trust in an organization, you get poor communication, low morale, and reduced productivity. In order to gain the trust of your team, you have to first start by telling the truth. Always hold yourself accountable and deliver on your promises. Also, you need to realize that trust is a two-way street. This means that you can’t just expect your team to just trust you. You have to trust your team to take ownership for themselves and make decisions too. Leaders must be willing to listen to their team and not get defensive when they push back. Trusting your team means believing that they have the best interests of the team in mind as well.
Listen & Speak Last
Effective listening is a crucial aspect of building healthy relationships at work. Leaders must make it a priority to actively listen to their team members. To do so, they must check their ego at the door and be prepared to speak last. Talk less, listen more. And when you do speak, speak with intelligence. It’s also crucial to improve your speaking skills to ensure that others listen to you when you speak. Most importantly, leaders must genuinely listen when people speak to them.
Respect Your Team & Earn Their Respect
Respect is the cornerstone of a healthy work relationship. Leaders should always respect their team members and lead by example. Additionally, they should respect not only their advocates but also those who may have different opinions. Being humble is also an essential aspect of showing respect to others. Leaders who show respect to team members are likely to gain their respect. This then creates a culture of mutual respect in the workplace.
Influence & Be Influenced
If you’re the type of leader who can influence others, you’re likely incredibly valuable to your organization. But it’s important to recognize the need to use that influence wisely and only when absolutely necessary. Don’t dig your heels in on your position. Instead, be willing to be influenced by others on your team or in your organization. By allowing others to influence you as a leader, you show that you respect and value the opinions of your team members. This helps to create an environment where everyone feels heard and respected. This then leads to more productive and positive relationships.
Ready to Strengthen Your Team’s Relationships?
Building healthy workplace relationships is essential for any successful team. Echelon Front’s Relationship Framework (Trust, Listen, Respect, and Influence) helps leaders cultivate healthy workplace relationships. By telling the truth, practicing active listening, respecting others, and using influence wisely, leaders can build strong relationships with their team members. We encourage business leaders and professionals to take Echelon Front’s relationship course to learn more about fostering healthy workplace relationships. Remember, you get by giving and by building healthy relationships, you give your team the best chance for success.
Stay tuned for our upcoming relationships course – coming May 2023! Meanwhile, check out our other leadership courses which can serve as foundation for the skills you’ll learn in our relationships course.
