Interpersonal Savvy: Building and Maintaining Solid Working Relationships

Gentry, Hannum, Livers, Van Stichel, Wilson, Zhao

• Publisher: Center for Creative Leadership Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781604911565
• eBook ISBN: 9781604917017
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

The success of your daily interactions with others, whether during formal meetings or encounters at the water cooler, can make or break your success in the workplace. Having interpersonal skills will allow you to motivate, inspire, and successfully lead others, as well as further your own career development. This guidebook will show you how, through self-awareness and strategic implementation of behaviors, you can utilize interpersonal savvy to make the most out of negative situations, develop and lead others, and create a positive working environment despite daily challenges and hardships.

How to Develop Interpersonal Savvy

At times, the practice of effective interpersonal savvy can feel vague and ill defined. You may be wondering whether there is a way to achieve reliable results in your relationships by following a set formula. Simply put, no; people are not mathematical figures. There is no way to perfectly track the return on your interpersonal investment. You may not be able to plot your results on a chart, but you can still be pragmatic in your approach. Think of these behaviors as a skill set providing you with the tools you need to inspire confidence in your team and respect for your leadership.

Goals for Developing Interpersonal Savvy

What are your interpersonal goals? How do you want others to perceive you? If you could choose an ideal image of yourself and project that image to others, what qualities would it have? Once you’ve set goals for yourself, it may be easier than you think to apply the appropriate skills. Take a look at the following skills to determine whether implementing them will help develop your interpersonal savvy.

I want to be a leader who shares responsibility. Fostering this perception in others can empower members of your team because it builds trust between you and them, builds their confidence in their own talents, and helps them invest personally in projects. All these results help you achieve your goals. If you want to project this quality, try these behaviors.

Worksheet 1: Perception and Interpersonal Savvy

Consider how others perceive you in the workplace, particularly in how you interact and communicate with others. You may want to ask trusted colleagues to give you candid, honest answers to these questions.

List two of the positive ways others perceive you in the workplace.

For those two positive perceptions, list behaviors that you believe contribute to those perceptions.

List two of the negative ways others perceive you in the workplace.

For those two negative perceptions, list behaviors that you believe contribute to those perceptions.

Assign high-visibility tasks to other team members when appropriate. Nobody likes to toil in obscurity. Give people the opportunity to prove themselves! If it turns out well, you might find other people coming to you asking for a similar chance. If it doesn’t turn out well, it becomes an opportunity to learn for both of you.

Share relevant information when delegating duties, and make sure everyone understands that information. People need a broad understanding of their tasks in order to do their best work—this includes understanding specifics about expectations, resources, processes, and so forth. Foster transparency in making assignments, and you may be surprised by the new ideas that come your way.

Take the time to learn the skills and desires of direct reports. Use what you learn to find assignments that take advantage of their skills and help them achieve their goals. Matching tasks to skill sets helps efficiency, and it may help people see you as a caring leader who values individual abilities. You will also learn what kinds of assignments will comfortably stretch your direct reports so that they can develop further.

I want to be a leader who promotes trustworthiness. Letting people know that you trust them is a great way to motivate them and gain their loyalty. By demonstrating trust in others, you allow them to feel secure around you, which may make them more confident about sharing ideas and concerns with you. Try these behaviors to generate trust.

Find sincere ways to talk positively about individuals both to them and to others. Everyone has strengths and at least one outstanding skill. Make a habit of identifying those strengths, and don’t keep them to yourself. You might surprise others with a positive observation about how they demonstrate advanced organizational skills or a determined attitude to get results. Recognizing and speaking about those kinds of behaviors can really change the way people identify with the team. They will go out of their way to prove you right and will trust you to represent them to others.

Guard information that was given to you in confidence. You don’t have to share sensitive information to act upon it. If Stacy tells you she’s overwhelmed with a demanding workload, you don’t have to mention her by name when you make the case for hiring more talent. By holding information in confidence, you gain the trust of your coworkers and may increase their openness in the future.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• What Is Interpersonal Savvy?
• Interpersonal Savvy in the Workplace
• How to Develop Interpersonal Savvy
• Your Behaviors—Too Much of a Good Thing?
• Red Flag Scenarios
• Your Red Flag Journal and How to Use It
• It’s Not a Trick—It’s Real Life
• Background
• Suggested Resources