Saturday 20 June 2015

Making wonderful friends within colleagues...in People/Team management. - Reap the benefits.

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Making a great friend out of a colleague is certainly nothing short of a challenge; yet comes with a host of benefits. Most of you must have observed at some point or the other, that a group of people who gel with each other have certain advantage at completing a task when compared to random individuals grouped for the same task. It’s a known preposition, in fact a no brainer. Yet why do we never encourage the practice? Or why don’t we seek to make great friends or become one at our work place.

The fundamental reason may be the choice; we make wonderful friends because we get to choose them from a group of people. We make such choices for various reasons. Colleagues on the other hand are different; we do not get to choose them. We have to invariably work with them. We may have good rapport with some or have to make adjustments or sacrifices with others. It becomes a very delicate situation when we have differences among our colleagues. In some cases, it might get to a point where we cannot work with a particular individual to an extent that we choose to opt for a transfer or even quit the job. The person in question may also be a difficult boss. The worst part is these circumstances are becoming more and more common. It results in an unpleasant and an unhappy work place for us and others. What can we do to ensure such situations do not crop up?

Now let’s understand the process of making wonderful friends outside our work place. Few things that we do in order to establish such great relationships may be:

·         We are honest to them and trust them to be honest too.
·         We communicate a lot; and welcome their feedback and work on it constructively. Also, we explain to them the benefits of implementing and working on our feedback.
·         We gladly make some sacrifices in order to entertain them.
·         We enjoy each others’ company.
·         We establish a strong bond with the other person; signifying that we will be there for the other person when needed no matter what and vice versa.

The list thus is exhaustive and may differ from person to person. However, the above mentioned points are fundamental in establishing amazing relationships for a real long time. These efforts from us go a long way and are certain to yield the following benefits:

·         Bring in more confidence; thereby improving performance and the ability to focus.
·         Better communication with an uninterrupted flow of positive feedback.
·         Proactive approach in providing critical comments in difficult situations.

How would it be to convert your colleagues into your friends? I am sure you will agree that you will provide and be a part of a great fun filled work environment; one that everyone will long to be in. This will help create a perfect workplace, facilitate one and all contribute to work effortlessly and effectively.