In the modern employment world, anyone would be hard pressed to manage effectively without interacting closely with other people, be they their own team, colleagues, line managers and customers, yet so often, this does not happen.

In the majority of situations, where any form of work activity takes place, the most important role a manager has is the ability to create just the right levels of relationships with each one of their team. And that’s where the vital ability to learn and nurture this skill comes in.

One of the most under-valued and unrecognized skills any individual can have is the ability to create useful relationships. This is not the preserve of the workplace alone, of course. Many of us know people who we just seem to get on well with.

This is no fluke. These individuals have learnt, often unwittingly, that they have the knack utilizing those interpersonal skills that either come naturally or they have actively developed in themselves.

Whilst this might seem to be particularly important for a manager to have and use with those individuals who work closely with and for them, the relationship building skills that ordinary employees can develop will be vital for them too, both with colleagues who are their peers as well as to make the most of their relationship up the line (more of this later!).

Many managers see their role most precisely defined by delivering targets and goals. By the results and numbers that are the tangible demonstration of success or failure. And of course, there is an attraction in the short-term world in which we live to be focused on the end-result, achieved as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The real truth is, however success is to be achieved, managers cannot do it alone, so the capability to use people skills to build effective relationships with at least the majority of their team is vital – many would say fundamental – to have any chance of success.

It is such a truism that managers ‘don’t manage things, they manage people’, yet many managers don’t make the often quite minimal investment of time needed to create effective relationships with their people. Indeed, they often spiral into overwhelm as they absorb the activities of their people and do the work they need not do if they had made that investment and made their relationships work much more effectively.

Relationship building is probably the most important activity for any manager – and yet it’s not restricted to them alone. Employees can develop their own skills to create effective working relationships too, making the difference for their engagement, motivation and not forgetting their potential and opportunity to develop and progress their career.

For those unfortunates who have managers who simply cannot appreciate the value that effective workplace relationships bring, they have an opportunity to take the lead and drag, kicking and screaming even, managers into the fold, such that effective business happens, even if it is ‘bottom up’!

Remember the key points – Be Proactive; Recognize the Value and above all, Create the Time to build those Effective Relationships!

Building useful relationships in a business world is probably one of the most valuable actions anyone can take. Yet there are many challenges to ensure that it’s authentic and effective at the same time.

Finding a particular trick that makes the difference can save a lot of time and energy, as well as being a very profitable indeed.

We all have a passion.

In us there are certain parts of our lives that are very important to us and we love to spend time with them. These can be the work we do; the people we know; the hobbies and leisure activities we do; or the pets we have and love. In fact, the ‘hot button’ in our lives can be a myriad of things.

When we manage people, we need to engage with them on the most emotional of levels possible, to build the relationship by showing that we care about what’s important to them.

It’s not that we don’t care about their impact on the workplace, but it is more about showing that we know that work isn’t necessarily the most important thing to them in their world.

Once we have the knowledge we need to log into what’s important to them, we have to remember it on those occasions we get into conversations, by showing a genuine interest in the topic.

Whilst in our busy working lives this could be seen to be an imposition we could do without while focusing on the important things we do, it’s important not to underestimate the unseen, yet critical value this focus gives us.

By raising the issue of how their newest grandchild is; or how their scuba diving course went; or (and work is allowed too!); what happened when they were recently interviewed for a promotion, we endear ourselves to those that matter most to us in our work, those team members who deliver for us.

There’s a little more to gain too. When you show interest in what others are passionate about you find it a lot easier to remember names.

You encourage them to be very open with you because you show you care, building trust. You learn much about them that otherwise you would not.

Not least, knowing them better enhances your life too.

By remembering a little about your people, there is much more value to gain than you might expect.