People skills at workplace

Want to Succeeed in Your Career ?Want to Be a Great Leader?

Your People Skills could be crucial

32 year old Shiamak is brilliant, creative, energetic and aggressive. A financial and strategic genius is what some would call him. But none of these qualities seem to be helping him at the moment, he has just discovered a major production setback in an extensively publicized new product. Thousands of orders have been delayed, angry customers are furious and who knows how this news will affect the company’s stocks.

Things would not have reached such a crisis for Shiamak, if he had understood the value of building relationship with his peers and had his subordinates found him approachable, he might have been able to appreciate the cross-functional challenges of developing this particular product. Despite his brilliance and talent Shiamak is perceived by his peers and subordinates as self promoting, remote and intolerant. Relationships with his peers and subordinates were not a priority with him. Like so many other talented people he lacks the emotional competencies that would help him work better as a team.

We all have met people who hate their jobs because of the people they work with. In a survey of 1500 workers it was found that 12 percent of staff had quit a job at some point to avoid nasty people at work and 45 percent were thinking about doing so. Experts estimate that 15% of your success comes from your skill and knowledge and 85% from your ability to connect to people and build trust and respect.

The ability to get along well with people in your personal relationships and in the workplace is a set of learned skills. No one is born knowing how to build others self esteem, show empathy, encourage cooperation, and communicate assertively etc…

However it is not very difficult to learn and develop these skills. By making the effort to build these ‘people skills’ you will be able to build a better relationship at home and at work. It is a proven fact that people who can get things done through others, who can motivate; those who are liked and those who get along with others, stand a better chance at becoming leaders in the work place and leading a more happy and satisfied life. For a happier and more satisfied professional and personal life it is worth investing time and effort building the following set of skills;

Build others' self-esteem: At home, at work and everywhere else, people like to hear that they're important and relevant. Let them know you think they're working real hard, that they're doing a great job—that they're contributing; that who they are and what they do has genuine value. Try it with your spouse, with your colleagues, with your friends. Be an encourager and an affirmer. There is no easier way to building your relationships than this.

You can make others feel good by doing the following:

• Make eye contact with others.
• Call others by their names.
• Ask others their opinions.
• Compliment others' work.
• Tell people how much you appreciate them.
• Write notes of thanks when someone does something worthwhile.

Show empathy for others: Empathy means recognizing emotions in others. It is the capacity to put yourself in another person's shoes and understand how they feel about things.

Focus on your similarities: Research shows we're more likely to be influenced by people who are similar to us. If you've been there too, if you've endured their pain, if you look and talk and dress like they do, they'll probably like you more. They'll listen to you more, they'll confide in you more. So focus on the similar. Even if you have a scant one percent commonality with somebody at work, focus 100 percent of your conversation on that commonality when you can.

Communicate assertively: Assertive communication is a constructive way of expressing feelings and opinions. Assertive behavior enables you to:

• Act in your own best interests.
• Stand up for yourself without becoming anxious.
• Express your honest feelings.
• Assert your personal rights without denying the rights of others

Encourage people to cooperate with each other: Whether you are managing a family or a work group, there are specific things you can do to create an environment where others work together well.

• Don't play favorites. Treat everyone the same.
• Don't talk about people behind their backs.
• Ask for others' ideas. Participation increases commitment.
• Follow up on suggestions, requests, and comments, even if you are unable to carry out a request.
• Reinforce cooperative behavior. Don't take it for granted.

At your workplace build a team instead of a staff of competitors. Pitting people, who have to work together against each other sets up an atmosphere of unnecessary competition. The real competitor is the other business, not the people inside.

Don't complain: Do not complain unless you have a solution. Offer potential solutions when you identify problems, or say nothing at all

Smile a lot: Do it consistently throughout the day and then watch how others respond to you. You'll be pleasantly surprised (and they might be too!).

Use self-depreciating humor: Don't hesitate to make fun of yourself. In a world where people are so full of themselves and incessantly concerned about communicating their own importance, self-depreciating humor can instantly make you attractive.

Talk about your own mistakes while raising theirs: You might be a perfectionist, but you're not perfect. If you want to get somebody to listen to you about mistakes they've made, start by identifying your own.

Be approachable: Create an environment where people are relaxed in your presence and feel comfortable approaching you.

Apologize: Just say it and see how liberating it is.

Never, ever gossip - ever: Many people don't even realize they're doing it, bonding with someone by tarnishing someone else's reputation

Don't communicate when you're angry: Sometimes it's unavoidable, but often it's not. Most of us do an exceedingly poor job of making our point clear when our brains are clouded by anger. Never ever send an angry email. If you send it, your angry words will be on record for ever. So just say no to angry emails.

People skills are like any other skills. The more you use them, the more adept you become. So if you're serious about "perfecting" your people skills, there's no shortcut. Only practice will make perfect.

It is estimated that workers and managers spend half to two-thirds of their time dealing with people problems. The bottom line is that an aptitude for working with others is extremely important, so make a commitment to improve your people skills and you’ll observe that not only does it make you more productive but makes your job easier as well.