The importance of creating strong, healthy work relationships
I started this company with a mindset of supporting others in their own success in “any way possible.” But success is a very broad term. How do we define it? What does it look like?
Some of my clients would surely answer, “Developing a healthy, sustaining environment rooted in equity.” For others, the goal is to build positive morale and increase retention. Still others seek executive leaders who are more vulnerable, transparent and collaborative. Just about every company wants to support their employees with their mental health, refresh their organizational culture, and get people back to feeling inspired and loving their job.
All good stuff – and whew, that’s a lot! In staring at such a wide-ranging list of worthy goals, it’s easy to feel lost before we’ve even started.
Where do I begin?
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Where do I begin? 〰️
In a time of unprecedented uncertainty causing new remote ways of living and working, organizations can become overly focused on the new, innovative way to lead, and can fall into a space where they are over-engineering their approach to the job. Employees end up feeling they are working endlessly and giving so much energy to their work, but when it comes to moving forward themselves, they are actually stuck right in the same space.
Your office and your organization are filled with real people whose real lives, needs and feelings impact their work on a day-to-day basis. And now more than ever, employees want their reality recognized. The days of performative action or attempting short-term solutions which are actually counterproductive are done with!
Successful 19th-century philanthropist Andrew Carnegie once said, “The most important thing in life is human relationships. With them you can gain cooperation and influence.”
Strong interpersonal relationships can unite, create mighty force and energy, and make possible the powerful changes that many organizations seek. So, why is it so commonly overlooked?
For one thing, relationship-building is authentically difficult, nuanced work. It’s not formulaic, instead requiring genuine attention and empathy. For another, it can seem disconnected from the organization’s “real” exterior-facing work, leaving it deprioritized or ignored altogether.
Luckily, there are proven methods of creating authentic positive relationships in the work setting. Building and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is a skill like any other that can be developed into a strength.
A key part of my work as a consultant is leading organizations through this exciting and difficult journey of building an authentic, effective workplace culture. Together, we chart a path forward, incorporating historical context, building our understanding and empathy, and most of all, developing great relationships with staff members. All of this is done with a goal of finding real solutions that will work – and will continue long after a contract ends.
The work should never be prioritized over the staff. The formula is always “People > Product.” If organizations define themselves first and foremost by the culture they provide for and with their employees, the work will always move forward. We cannot have the impact we dream of having in the world if we do not first tend our own garden.
For my clients who have begun this journey, and are now reaching a new level of transparency with their staff, it is exciting to witness the new potential being unlocked and the new possibilities unfolding as a result of this transformative work.
If your company, organization or department is ready to step into a more stable, successful future, it all starts with a culture rooted in equity and authentic relationships. Let’s talk about how we can get there together.