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Improving Interpersonal Skills at Workplace

‘I hate my boss!’ ‘How can she even say that to me?’ ‘I am switching my job because I CANNOT tolerate my boss!’ Do these tantrums sound familiar? Have you heard people repeating them off and on? Have you ever pondered on what results in such a high degree of workplace dissatisfaction? A plausible answer is: poor interpersonal skills at work. People up there in the hierarchy might not be able to communicate satisfactorily whatever they are expecting out of their employees with the result that both of them end up in a dilemma and neither is happy with the performance of the other. Therefore, it is imperative for everyone in the organization to be able to effectively get his message across to his subordinate.

My Subordinates Aren’t Happy With Me: What Do I Do?

If you are among the bosses who are scorned and looked down upon, you might have to consider the following questions:

Do I give my employees enough space to execute freedom of choice?
Do I even listen to their comments/suggestions/feedback?
How many times do I have a one on one, face to face interaction with my colleagues?
Is my tone too soft such that no one actually takes me seriously? Or is it too harsh that people who are unclear on their agenda dread asking me for a clarification?
Most importantly: Do I treat my employees as ‘humans’?

After you have made a mind map of the above questions, move on to progressing towards improving your relationship with your employees by going on to the next level of interpersonal skills.

I Realize I Am Wrong Somewhere: What Do I Do To Make Up?

If you think you can make a happier and friendlier workplace environment by polishing your interpersonal skills, consider doing the following:

Try smiling your way through. It will help make your employees sail through the toughest of all the jobs. Add a little humor on top of it too so that the employees know that you aren’t the kind of boss they can never turn to.
Mouth your words clearly and precisely. Don’t prolong a sentence, making stories out of it- you will lose your audience!
Make sure you truly feel for what you are speaking. For if you are randomly throwing sentences at people, they have very few chances of being followed up too.
Set out a distinct line between what you want and what you don’t want- This will help you evaluate the work presented before you too
Be appreciative: try spreading around positivity. Commend people on what they have done exceptionally rather than focusing on where they had lagged behind. You will, of course, have to tell them where they need to focus, but put it in a subtle way rather than being explicit and rude
Make sure you are an active listener who does not interrupt while others speak. Give them your complete attention while they are speaking.

The bottom line is: Give respect and take respect! Unless you don’t value people working under you, it is very unlikely that you will succeed in getting the best out of them. Everyone wants to be appreciated- Give them that!

Identifying Future Leaders

The youth of today is the future of tomorrow. This simple sentence means that any adult of tomorrow, in any capacity, will be made out of the children you have in front of you today. Criminals and judges, teachers and doctors, all grow up from children. As a result, it is important to treat the children in front of you as more than simply children. They need to be treated and viewed as future adults, because if you believe them to be capable of your full attention and respect, they will feel the same.

Of course some children have these qualities built in them with or without the development of their parents. These children have innate habits and preferences which show their developed independence and free will from a very young age. It is these children that grow up to be the future leaders of tomorrow and surprisingly enough can be quiet easy to spot if the right amount of attention is paid to them.

Early Development

Studies have shown that children can be taught independence and the free will of choices from a very early age, starting from as early as 6 months. These children or toddlers not only have a strong sense of choice and preference, but they also know exactly how to get what they want. Some parents see this as disobedience or pickiness but in reality these children just have a strong sense of will and decision. These children also manage to keep themselves amused without the need for external help, whether it is from parents or other equipment and objects such as toys. This again shows a strong sense of independence and in the future, this is a trait that sticks with these children.

Situational Development

As children grow up the situations that they are put in, and how they react to them also reflects strongly on their inclination as future leaders. These situations can be developed by parents or teachers, or they can arise naturally. Some traits that are common to most future leaders are identified as a sharp sense of observation and a keen sense of curiosity. Another key feature of interest can be how the individual works on tasks assigned to him, either as an individual or as a part of a group. Children with leadership tendencies often want to take control of a task, even if it is meant to be a group task. They either take initiative, or they give directions, or they simply follow instructions with such innovation that they naturally become a leader, by acquiring a certain followership.

Children can have many innate abilities that point towards their tendencies and abilities to become leaders, but these abilities can often become muddled by bad habits, or a lack of development. Therefore, parents and teachers should do their best to inculcate in all individuals the habits that are found in good, strong leaders, so that they may either be developed into such, or they may be given the qualities that can help become such, even if they are not born with the natural tendency to be so.

Employees First – Why you Must Invest in your Employees

Who Are Employees?

Employees are the workforce of an organization and are the backbone of the system. There are different levels at which employees work. Those levels include associates, leaders, assistant managers, general managers, and vice presidents. The only difference between them all is the difference in their designation and thus their salary structures. Every employee performs a unique task that has been assigned to him/her. Managers perform the tasks that are related to management and supervisors supervise others. All employees are indispensible for an organization and thus, the management should never turn a blind eye to their rights and requirements.

Employees as an Asset

Employees are an asset of the company and without them no one can run a company. No matter how small a business is, there is always a need for employees and the ones who have all the required knowledge of the job. The managers have to realize that they need to hire those employees who have the required past experience as well.

What Is Meant By Investing In Employees?

When we use the word “investing” in employees, we are referring to training. Every company is investing a lot in its employees these days because they know why. There are numerous different types of training programs that companies can start in order to invest in their employees. The companies can employee training programs, training seminars, and even send their employees to different countries so that they can have work experience. Moreover, investing also means investing in the tests that the company makes for the employees who are applying to narrow down the selection and make it faster. The tests need to be reliable and valid so that the selection is efficient and the employees that are selected turn out to be very useful for the company.

Why Should Companies Invest In Them?

After the entire discussion, the main question that arises is that why should companies invest in them? There are numerous reasons to answer this question. The companies need to realize that their employees are their assets and if they are not in perfect form, they won’t be able to perform well and thus the companies wouldn’t prosper as well. If the companies are reluctant in investing in employees, they might be able to save some money right now, but in the long run, that would definitely affect the companies’ revenues and efficiency adversely. Investing in employees would also give the company a competitive edge over its competitors. That is because the employees that are working for a company would be more trained as compared to the ones working in other companies. For the smooth and successful running of a company, the employees need to be in their best form and that can only be achieved by investing in the training programs. Not only does that motivate the employees, but also gives them an incentive to work for that company. And once they are motivated, whatever they would do would be beneficial for the company in all the ways.