"You do not connect with people by telling them where you are, you connect with people by finding where they are. "
If we help others get what they want, they are likely to return the favor and help us get what we want. How do you get to know what your employees and customers want? You frequently ask questions and listen!
The difference between management and leadership is that, management leads everyone the same. Managers do not take into consideration individual motives, dreams, passion or even interests. To them, it's one size fits all.
As for leaders, they know, people follow you for different reasons, hence they lead everyone differently. Leaders ask questions and listen to individual motives, dreams, passion and interests. Questions are key to unlocking strong relationships in the workplace.
"Ask the Right Questions "
There are a lot of ways to connect with people and if asking the right questions is not your preferred skill then develop the skill. Apart from asking good questions and listening attentively, a great way to create a better RRR is through observation.
"Behavior tells you everything about an individual more than anything else "
89 percent of what you and I know, we learnt by visually seeing it somewhere else- through observation. Many employers today are like travel agents-they send employees to destinations they have never been themselves. It's a tragedy because expectations are exaggerated, there are filled with illusions that end up causing chaos in the workplace.
This is why building strong and lasting relationships requires you to watch the behavior of your colleagues at work, observe the behavior of your customers and build a mutual relationship from where they are. Such a relationship will stimulate momentum between an employer-employee relationship and the results will be satisfactory to the end-users.
My cricket coach and mentor back in the hey days used to say, "Justice, dont tell me what you are going to do- show me what you are going to do and I'm going to observe". Strong relationships are premised on good behavior, good manners, positive energy, constructive feedback, asking the right questions, listening attentively, creating a culture of dignity and support and an attitude of gratitude.
Strong relationships are credible and before customers and suppliers establish a RRR, they want to know if you can help them. People are looking for lasting relations that are reliable, relations that they can depend on and trust.
Its impossible to convince others if you haven't been successful yourself. Like the old adage goes; 'you can not give what you don't have.' Requited Reliance Relations produce results hence their viability for business growth.
Hey, after all, remember this, in every relationship you find yourself in: it's not what you withdraw into or deposit from the relationship but rather what is important is who you become.
