Are You Holding Up Your End of the Work Relationship

How to get more out of work relationships

Someone once said that work is like high school. There are clicks, in groups, and weirdos that don’t fit in. If high school is where we learn to navigate social norms and find acceptance, work is where we perfect those fit-in and get-along skills. Working with people that we don’t see eye-to-eye with can be difficult at best and highly stressful at worst. While being part of a team that is uplifting and encouraging feels like heaven on earth.

To create thriving work relationships you need to act in a way that makes others want to collaborate with you, creating synergy that improves the quality of performance for everyone involved. In reality, work relationships are often transitional; and people tend to forget what you did yesterday when they need your help today. To be successful in cultivating work relationships you are expected to deliver quality service, be trustworthy, and display a sense of humility. Here are some tips for building strong work relationships.

Give it your best

No one wants shoddy work. Poor quality likely will result in extra hours for a few members of the team. Instead, communicate about expectations, and inform project owners about your progress. Ask thoughtful questions early, and confirm you are on track as often as necessary. It is better to be a nuisance on the road to quality than a roadblock to success. Most importantly, meet deadlines. If you miss a deadline, every member of the project is impacted, leading to trust issues that could lose you many friends and derail your career.

Everyone wants to work with Mary. Regardless of the assignment she cheerfully accepts the challenge, listens to feedback and acts on it, and meets every deadline. In secret, they say, “If you want something done well, give it to Mary. If you want to work with a rockstar, get Mary on your project.”

Mary is a good example of why it is important to honor your word. When you promise to do something, do it, even if that means working late or sacrificing some valuable time off to complete the task. Failing to keep your commitments will make others not want to work with you. And while you may never hear the claims of your negative impact on a project, plenty of other people throughout the organization will. One simple way to keep your reputation impeccable is to under-promise and over-deliver.

Under-promise & Over-deliver

Give yourself some leeway in getting assignments done by giving yourself a buffer between the best-case scenario and what happens if all hell breaks loose. That pad will allow you time to fix quality issues, handle unexpected emergencies, and still deliver to expectations on time. There is nothing worse than working extra hours because the deadline is fast approaching, and you won’t meet it otherwise.

Bill, the course development manager at SeaGen, is assigned to create an online course for the company’s new software. In the past, it has taken six weeks to develop such a program. However, he and his team are not too busy at the moment, and he believes they can get it done in four. Instead of promising the course in the month he estimates it will take, he tells his boss it will take the full six weeks. This gives them a two-week buffer in case something goes wrong.

His team enthusiastically completes the project in just three and a half weeks. However, upon review, there are some issues with the color palate and a flaw in the learning management system results in the course crashing mid-way through. If he had promised the project in four weeks, these issues would have led to disaster.

However, the team was able to fix the issues without undue stress and still deliver a week early. By under-promising and over-delivering, Bill’s team not only impressed management but also enhanced their reputation across the organization.

Be a team player

Next, consider how you can be supportive of your team and the organization as a whole. Taking a humble approach to collaboration is always appreciated. I use expressions like “We are all on the same team.” And “Here to serve.” to remind myself that I am part of something larger than just me. Making your interactions with others as pleasant as possible will help you get ahead, and buy forgiveness when things go wrong.

Sarah and Joe work at Overstreet, a boutique marketing firm, and get assigned to team up on a big campaign for a regional restaurant chain. Sarah is the graphic designer, and Joe is the content strategist. At first, everything appears to be going ok. But soon tensions start to surface.

During one of their strategy meetings, Sarah feels like Joe is dismissive of her creative design ideas, favoring his own instead. Meanwhile, Joe thinks Sarah isn’t putting enough emphasis on their avatar’s preferences. This leads to a tense back-and-forth discussion about how to approach the campaign. As a result, both exit the meeting frustrated with the direction of the project and each other, leaving them to wonder if they can really get on the same page and successfully complete the commission.

They both understand that they will need to collaborate to satisfy the client, so they decide to address their differences head-on. Over a cup of coffee, they clear the air. They each share their perspectives and realize that neither approach is wrong. They are just different.

As their discussion progresses, they come to realize that their ideas are complimentary, not contrasting. After that, Sarah starts incorporating more audience insights in her designs, while Joe steps out of his comfort zone to embrace the creativity that Sarah brings.

As they dive deeper into the project, they both commit to maintaining high standards. They pay close attention to detail and consider the corrective feedback the other gives, sometimes even before it is stated. With the deadline fast approaching, they spend extra hours working together refining their work, conducting tests, and adjusting the campaign. Their collective effort pays off—the campaign launches successfully and receives glowing reviews from the firm, its client, and the target audience!

Furthermore, the process of working through their disagreements has strengthened their relationship. They have developed a newfound respect for each other’s talents and now rely on each other when either one needs a novel approach to an idea. As a result, they look for opportunities to collaborate, having learned that an important aspect of any project is bridging gaps and allowing each team member to share their insights. That leads to fresh perspectives. Ultimately, the high-quality work not only fosters project success but also can turn initial conflict into a solid foundation for a lasting professional bond.

Reframe your Asks

You have tasks and projects you need to get done. Those outcomes directly impact others. Why not take a moment to consider how what you need can help the person you are requesting support from? Instead of framing the tasks in terms of what you need to get done (i.e., I need the presentation deck by Wednesday) consider how the output and results benefit others (is there anything I can do to help you complete the presentation deck?). Notice how the second example frames your needs in terms of how they help the other person?

Here is another – Instead of saying, “I am working on the product launch tour and need your assistance in getting the presentation deck done.” Try leading like this, “I know you have been looking for an opportunity to work with marketing (add the other person’s desire here). My new task is producing the presentation deck for our upcoming launch tour. That seems like a good project for you to get your foot in the door (add the expected benefit here). Would you be interested in collaborating on this?”

Framing the request in terms of the benefits to the other person will achieve lasting positive impact.

In conclusion

Building good relationships at work will make it easier to do your job in a way that is fulfilling. Doing your best to deliver high quality, keeping your word, and being supportive to others in your organization, regardless of the department they work in, will build bonds that stand the test of time.