Everyone talks about the importance of relationships; in teams, with customers, with your boss, with your staff; in families, with spouses and partners. But mostly what I hear are people holding the kind of conversations that do little to build relationships and are often virtually guaranteed to damage them!
I hear emotional outbursts, accusations and blame. I see people offering their opinions without taking the trouble to find out the facts. I see persuasion, coercion and power play.
When relationships are strained, when people are not performing, projects are delayed and family members are avoiding one another, it’s likely there are conversations you’re not having, or are not having effectively.
You’ll never achieve the results you want if you don’t have open, honest conversations that help develop good relationships as much as they focus on getting results.