Asma khan balouch Interpersonal relationship skills are essential skills to excel in the work environment. Many employees with excellent academic performance do not get an opportunity to showcase their abilities or struggle to excel in the workplace.
With the ever-evolving job market, recruiters also have changed their preferences to adopt new work cultures that promote a collaborative framework.
This means that you need not only technical skills but also interpersonal skills to save your job or even get hired.
Unfortunately, our educational institutes are not playing a responsible role in preparing students and individuals as per the requirements of the job market.
Here we will explore some interpersonal relationship skills, techniques, and strategies for potential problems you may face to succeed in an organization.
What are interpersonal relationship skills?
Soft or interpersonal relationship skills are tools used to interact within an organization. This specific set of abilities enables individuals to collaborate and practice effective communication with clients, coworkers, stakeholders, subordinates, etc., in the professional setting. It aids in fostering teamwork and maintaining a positive work atmosphere.
Why interpersonal relationship skills are important?
Job-specific skills are highly sought-after skills by both employees & employers. In the past, only certain positions required such skills but now almost everyone should work on their soft skills.
All the changes that COVID-19 has brought to our work culture are now part of every organization for instance hybrid working. This means the demand and need for such skills are intensifying each day.
A lack of social skills can lead to undesirable results. As a fresh graduate after many interviews, I was hired by an organization. Apart from my role as a consultant, I had no interest in any of the things that happened in the workplace because I was an introvert, I didn’t like to interact or socialize. There was a misunderstanding between me and the manager, she didn’t realize her mistake as she was at fault and her attitude continued to show.
After a few days, I was so disappointed that I decided to quit the job. She lacked the leadership skills required for her position as a manager & her egoistical nature led to a bad experience. Their organization was understaffed for a long period as none of the employees wanted to continue their jobs after the first trial.
Here are some interpersonal relationship skills that you might need to succeed at work life:
1. Effective Communication (Verbal, Non-verbal, body language, etc.)
Effective communication is the basic interpersonal relationship skill that everyone should acquire to succeed in any field of life but when it comes to your professional life possessing such skills inevitable.
This skill shows how efficiently you can communicate through spoken language and verbal and non-verbal elements. Everything in a professional setting contributes either to your success or failure and so do communication skills.
When you are at your job you always need to interact with your boss, colleagues, and clients. You always had to share your ideas and opinions. Effective communication helps to promote understanding and express priorities. An effective communicator pulls in to understand the situation, listens carefully, and shows kind gestures.
2. Leadership
Although leadership is being labeled as a God-gifted ability of some people, it is not entirely so. If you are the CEO of any firm or organization, you have a vast number of individuals working under your radar who need instructions, guidance, and motivation.
If we talk about the employee end, there are many positions in the organization that require leadership skills. Even an ordinary employee with leadership abilities manages a lot of workloads and helps his peers to perform well.
A person with leadership skills not only earns the rep and trust of the employer but is also respected among his peers. A true leader shares the burden and is not one who just gives orders.
3. Teamwork (collaboration & supportiveness)
Teamwork is the ability to work within a group to achieve a common goal. Individuals who get along easily with team members and work more efficiently in a collaborative environment are considered good team players.
Team players are in high demand by employers and recruiters, as the nature of the project has evolved and each field is somehow connected to other fields or departments within the organization. Good team players motivate other members and help them get the job done.
4. Conflict resolution (problem-solving, negotiation)
Being an active workforce member requires an optimistic mindset as well as an attitude to resolve conflicts. You may get into a conflict with any client, coworkers, or even superiors just like I discussed above.
You must have problem-solving skills to come up with quick solutions when faced with such challenging situations. You will need to come up with common ground to address potential issues, reaching agreements that are favorable to all parties involved.
5. Active listening
Embracing the beauty of active listening can give individuals a potential advantage over other employees. Active listeners absorb any given information and can recall important information from the last meeting. They actively participate in discussions, and attend presentations and meetings attentively.
6. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in one’s success story. EQ is the ability to understand own and others’ emotions well.
Individuals with high EQ are self-aware and know their strengths and weaknesses. Such an employee not only helps and understands his peers well and helps them to cope with work-life challenges but also is good at understanding and satisfying the needs of customers.
7. Adaptability
Adaptability is the ability to adjust to spontaneous changes in the work environment. The changes may be work-related, or change in work location, or might be unexpected situations. You must be flexible to adjust accordingly and implement new ideas and solutions with an open mind.
8. Networking
Socializing and broadening your professional circle is beneficial in the long term in your career. Building connections with colleagues and other professionals and nurturing these relationships over time will earn you like-minded, successful companions who can facilitate you with further opportunities to grow.
Show interest in others, and be a service to them when needed. To build successful long-term connections you need to add some value to their lives so that people feel the urge to maintain a connection.
9. Feedback & Recognition
Everyone is doing their part to make things work to achieve a goal. But some employers and also employees don’t recognize the efforts of others and don’t appreciate them, which demotivates individuals to give their best.
Be open to giving and receiving constructive feedback. Openly appreciate the efforts of others in the team.
10. Professionalism
No employer wants to lose their client because of non-serious and unprofessional behavior. The etiquette that upholds the values & standards of the workplace should be visible through your dealings and interactions. You must be respectful and knowledgeable about different cultures and backgrounds.
Issues at the workplace you might face
- Conflict & Disagreements
Conflicts can arise due to misunderstandings or clashes in ideas, opinions, or working styles.
- Personality clashes
One of the common issues in the workplace is personality clashes. Different methods of problem-solving and working styles can cause friction.
- Lack of recognition
This can become a serious issue causing individuals to feel unappreciated and demotivated and lack engagement in team activities.
- Office politics
One of the annoying, unprofessional yet profound issues at the workplace. Office politics and negative gossip can lead to a toxic work environment.
How to tackle workplace issues?
Maintaining a healthy work environment is crucial to enhance productivity. Acquiring and improving interpersonal relationship skills on the part of both team members and employers will aid in navigating such issues.
Once achieved peaceful work environment with a skilled workforce, success is assured.
Job seekers out there should remember that there is no such firm or company that would hire an incompatible individual to waste their time working on your improvement. It’s you, and only you who is responsible for your growth. So polish your skill to the extent that you become a competition, not a competitor.
Bonus: A success story of Rehan Allahwala
Rehan Allahwala is a motivational speaker and entrepreneur from Pakistan who emphasizes communication skills especially soft skills. He told how he started from zero and became a millionaire by employing his social skills.
He started working as a child and faced many challenges during his journey. He used to sell stationary to his schoolmates at age 10 and now he has multiple sources of income through his entrepreneurship startups.
Rehan Allahwala credits his friend Suzanne for helping him develop soft skills. His success solely depended on his people skills and therefore he values it and advises others to learn interpersonal skills.
