Photo credit: susanliddy.com
Building up and maintaining positive, fruitful work relationships can be a job in itself. From managing management’s demands and expectations while refraining from throwing sharp objects at your boss, to remaining engaged with your teams, having genuinely fulfilling relationships at work can sometimes sound like pulling hair, teeth, and all the patience and dedication in the world. And frankly, in between the month-end meetings, quarterly reports and the boss’s last minute projects, not to mention your toddler’s new tantrum phase and your hairdresser moving out of town (hello crisis), who has time for that?
I’ve made some wonderful connections at work, and some that felt more like biting your tongue after chewing gum too hard. Yet through it all, the common denominator that made the difference between the relationships that made it beyond the cubicle, and those that ended up lost somewhere on Linked In, rested solely in how genuine the connections were. And genuine connections, especially at work, take time, effort and a few extra rearrangements in your professional habits. Here’s a quick infographic on simple, no-nonsense ways to score genuine work relationships, that may very well lead you to career success:
