Clicking over Connecting With Your People
We spend a lot of time “connecting” with people—virtually—but never really find the time to “click” with those we meet in person. Those two words may sound the same, but we’d like to think that “clicking” is the next step after connecting with someone. It’s taking the new relationship past being an acquaintance—where you know more than what their social media can tell you. That’s clicking. Here are some tips that we think are the best for getting past the shallow connection:
Focus on them: Let’s be real—we’re in a day where it’s all about me. When was the last time you set yourself aside and truly showed interest in the other person sitting across from you? It’s easy to become distracted by your phone and what’s going on away from where you presently are; but you want the person with you to leave the conversation feeling important and valuable. You loose credibility and “first impression points” the minute you start multitasking.
Learn from them: No matter what field of work, political view, salary status, or gender—they always have a strength and wisdom in an area you don’t have. It’s easy to right off people’s views when they don’t match what you believe, but there’s always value in the words of others. You’ll run into more people you disagree with than who share your worldview.
Build the foundation of common ground: You may only see differences, but there’s always common ground to be discovered. This is when you find your place of clicking with someone. Not every relationship you will have will be a close friend, but even having common ground with the people you do business with will build trust, respect, and a great network of deeper connections. Build your common ground and appreciate the unique differences.
There’s always value in anyone that you meet. We so easily dismiss people because they are different and we can’t see our gain in the relationship. Let’s go deeper than a social media connection to just throw them in our network. They may need you more than you can find a need in them. Investing in others will only grow you and your network deeper than your social media can.
Finally, discover how WorkCompass can improve connecting with your people through our performance management software. Please get in touch today and request a demo.
