The Difference Between Interactions and Relationships
It is important to understand the difference between an interaction and a relationship as you work to raise your visibility in your organization and industry. I defined interacting as “the degree to which you engage one-to-one with colleagues.” While interactions...
The Difference Between Interacting and Networking
There is no doubt that networking is a very important activity. Networking is the primary type of interaction for individuals looking for a job or who are self-employed. By focusing on networking, these individuals build relationships that allow them to make...
Interaction Skills – Nature vs. Nurture
The degree to which you interact with others is similar to the nature versus nurture philosophy that we hear or read about regarding human development. In scholarly articles published on this topic, nature typically refers to characteristics you have inherited....
The Benefits of Interacting With Others
As you work to expand your interactions beyond networking, you should consider the benefits of increasing the degree to which you interact with others. By interacting with colleagues at your organization, you: Increase your knowledge of what is occurring at your...
Visibility Accelerator #4 – Interact with Others
You know office hermits. The colleagues who, hidden within the confines of their offices or workstations, click away on their computer keyboards, mumble their way through conference calls behind closed doors, and slip in and out of their offices and workstations as...
Enhancing Your Degree of Responsiveness – The Volume Fallacy
Not all who are unresponsive can blame the overwhelming amount of incoming emails and phone calls as the cause of their behavior. Many of us tend to assume that other people’s low responsiveness is due to workload when, in reality, they may not possess a natural...
Enhancing Your Degree of Responsiveness – Respond Appropriately
At some point, you will either have the answer your colleagues need or realize that you do not. If you have the answer they need – great! However, once you know that you are unable to help, let your colleagues know as soon as possible so they can go elsewhere....
Enhancing Your Degree of Responsiveness – Update Appropriately
Once you have quickly acknowledged your colleagues’ outreach, you need to keep them updated on the status of their outreach. You may not have started working on it yet or you have been working on it and you don’t have a response yet. By keeping your colleagues...
Enhancing Your Degree of Responsiveness – Acknowledge Receipt of Emails and Phone Messages
There is a big difference between acknowledging an outreach and providing an answer to the outreach. You may not have the answer or you may not have the time to provide the answer at that moment. Regardless of the situation and in order to help your colleagues make...
Enhancing Your Degree of Responsiveness – Set Expectations
Although you cannot control the number of inbound outreaches to you, you can set expectations regarding how your colleagues will hear back from you. Expectations are the boundaries you create which reflect your unique style, calendar and workload. Here are some...
