We spend many hours at work and our colleagues often see more of us than their friends and family. We are often fortunate to find that we meet some of our best friends and even partners through work. However, there are some characters that will always be nothing more than a colleague, for a
variety of reasons.
variety of reasons.
When we work in an organisation with a character that does not naturally gel with your personality, it is important to foster good working relationships. You never want to end up with an enemy or any type of conflict in your workplace. The conflict can damage your image in the company. It is far better to be seen as a good team worker and generally easy person to get along with. Here are some guidelines to help
you forge good working relationships:
you forge good working relationships:
Author Grant Cochrane and Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
- Always aim to be friendly and supportive indiscriminately at work.
- Try to cooperate with others and general projects that you may involved in.
- Aim to get a reputation as a good team worker.
- Do not be a pushover. You do not want to go against your thoughts or beliefs, as this may lead to a loss of respect for you in the workplace.
- Be a team player. Be aware of when you have slack time and others are busy and offer your help.
- Never disrespect plans and opinions put forward by others. Be diplomatic when putting forward counter arguments.
- For those ‘special’ personalities try to focus on people’s good points- even if they aren’t immediately obvious.
- Do not gossip about others, as this can be a source of conflict and develop enemies. Also do not reveal information about yourself which could lead to others gossiping about you.
- Pay compliments to people when they have done well. This is always welcomed by people if you do it sincerely. Also try telling people about your accomplishments, without overdoing it. This has the effect of building your professional respect, as a skilled and useful employee.
- When you have a disaster; be calm and communicate clearly to others. No one wants to be around a drama queen all the time. Some people can respond badly to over dramatic behaviour.
- Prepare for meetings so that you can make a meaningful contribution and most importantly not say anything that is accidentally offensive.
- In meetings always give everyone the opportunity to speak and respect for their views.
We are all likely to have had some type of conflict at work with our colleagues. These guidelines will help you to avoid any unnecessary headaches in the future.
Author jscreationzs and Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
I have written this based on my numerous years working as a Legal Secretary and a trainer at a Legal Secretary Training Centre.
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