No matter your education ability or accomplishments if you’re not skilled at playing well with others, all will be for not. Your relationships with others will dictate how well you do in the workplace far more than your skills and abilities.

Many of you are right now thinking I already know all that. Of course you do. But let me ask you this. Why then do so many otherwise glowing careers get tanked or submarined right when they should be taking off?

The number one reason is that these would-be leaders lacked the people skills, appreciation, and/or the motivation and drive to build meaningful relationships inside and outside their sphere of influence, namely their coworkers and peers.  

Here’s a few tips to help keep you out of the line of fire…

Avoid Sarcasm, Verbal and Non-Verbal.

Verbal or non-verbal sarcasm, or in any way talking down or acting in a demeaning way to a co-worker or subordinate is felt not just by the one you are addressing. It reverberates and stay in the long-term emotional memory banks of your entire team.

The consequences are that you risk losing your best people. Your A-level players are are the first ones to take action and are especially at risk. Why? Because they care deeply about building their workplace relationships. They are naturally the ones most vigilant about scoping out the emotional well-being of their colleagues, and are also the ones mostly like to have competitive offers waiting for them.

Table Solutions, Not Just the Problems.

The easiest thing in the world is identifying problems. Anyone can do that. What sets the average from the A-level players apart is the ability to find and articulate workable solutions to these problems.
Remember also to frame your solutions as cost-effective benefits to the company and productivity gains to your team. You will be seen as a team player and, gain the respect and ear of others like you who are onside to make things better.

Acknowledge, Never Blame.
If finding problems is the easiest thing to do then blaming others is a close second. It’s human nature to look outside at the cause of problems and to focus attention there. But this does little else but alienate your from others.

Nobody wants to be at the receiving end of blame. Focus attention on what is going right and acknowledge the good things individuals and teams are doing before presenting problems.

This is all part of staying in the solution and goes a long way to your building and keeping strong mutually respectful relationships with your peers and co-workers. And isn’t that what enjoying our work is really all about?

Barbara Ashton heads up Excel Personnel’s executive search & permanent staffing division as well as managing new business development. Working throughout British Columbia, across Canada and internationally, her track record in recruitment spans an impressive 25 years recruiting A-level talent for exceptional companies.