How to Develop Team Skills and Build Excellent Relationships with Everyone in Your Team

When it comes to success in any line of work, one of the most underrated skills is one’s capacity and skill in socializing. Despite us being social creatures and the benefits it provides, we take interpersonal skills for granted.

A worker that has a high interpersonal skill tends to have good synergy with their team, leading to higher job satisfaction and better work quality output. This is why team building activities are important.

Team building activities can foster a great working relationship amongst coworkers. They ultimately are for the better of the employees and the company.

So how could one start to develop team skills and build relationships with their teammates?  We’ve listed just the answer to that question. 

Develop People Skills

Aside from one’s technical capabilities, one must remember to develop their emotional intelligence as well. High emotional intelligence is manifested through one’s people skills.

People skills are the unsung hero of positive interpersonal relationships. It involves active listening skills, open-mindedness, a good sense of humor, as well as persuasive and negotiation skills, problem-solving, and communication skills.

The next step to knowing which skills contribute to overall people skills is developing them. There are several ways you can practice or hone your people skills.

For one, try to be aware of how you listen. Perhaps you find yourself passively nodding along to a conversation while constantly checking your phone. It’s best to actively listen by maintaining a healthy amount of eye contact and precise queries.

Improve your conflict resolution skills by being empathetic and providing actionable solutions while using a well-timed joke or quip to ease tensions. This can make you a good teammate and a better leader.

Aside from conflict resolution skills, enhance your communication skills by making the effort to use clear language. Try not to work on the assumption that you and the person you are communicating to are on the same page.

No matter your level in the hierarchy, take the time to confirm if you’ve been understood. Be patient and always check up on teammates for questions or other comments.

On the whole, people skills lead to better relationships. And with better relationships come a harmonious work life. So, better start practicing!

Make an Effort on Relationship Building

Like anything important in your life, relationships need to be properly maintained. It’s common to think that positive relationships will develop on their own. This shouldn’t be our mindset when it comes to any relationship.

Good relationships don’t just happen. Oftentimes, you have to go out of your way to manage and build a good one. This is especially important in the workplace.

These are people you will be dealing with on a constant basis. Think of it as an investment to one’s career health to make the effort to build and improve relationships between coworkers.

As an individual, you can try to spend a couple of minutes to chit-chat with a coworker. Perhaps in the morning, right before you grind out at the workplace.

As a team, organize team building activities so that the entire group can work on a task together. Team building activities give every member the chance to interact and communicate with one another.

Some team building activities are held outside of the office so this can be a good chance to see each other in a different light. With these team exercises, bonds can be deepened and team dynamics can be actualized and honed.

Manage The Boundaries

Excellent team relationships shouldn’t be a hindrance to your work. If you find a colleague taking up your time with matters outside of work, don’t hesitate to set your boundary. Let them know that you both have to get work going.

Do not be wary of rejecting a coworker’s prompt to socialize. As long as you communicate clearly, your colleague will understand. Having a healthy capacity of trust in people is also a sign of emotional intelligence.

Having a strong boundary set between you and coworkers allow you to better compartmentalize professional relationships with personal ones. When you are aware of when to be personal and when to be professional, it indicates a notable level of empathy.

Managing boundaries also mean managing responsibility. Do not be afraid to clarify which tasks are under your jurisdiction and when problems or assignments are out of your league.

Consult your team hierarchy when you have questions or clarifications. And if you’re a leader, don’t be stingy with your task delegations.

Managing boundaries are important to work skills and a fundamental life skill. Being able to properly manage your boundaries will have a positive effect on your mental health too.

To Sum It Up

Synergy is when the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Building relationships between coworkers and managing them have a very meaningful role in the overall success of the team. It helps develop a powerful synergy that in turn affects work quality output.

This can be achieved by actively seeking out ways to interact well with coworkers during day-to-day operations. Another way to develop team skills is through team building activities organized by the company.

If you take the time to develop these skills and build lasting professional relationships with your team, it makes work easier. It makes work life healthier. And it makes the day-to-day grind a whole lot better.