Our world is so complex and there’ so much digital architecture being created that we end up building barriers between ourselves and achieving intimacy and connections. We’re being encouraged to believe that everyone wants to be interacted with at arm’s length, through a screen and not face to face or in real-time.
Excellent interpersonal connections can enhance the way that you do business and your career prospects. Building intimacy needs a foundation of authenticity, which means embracing our own individuality and being confident when we communicate it to others.
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Connections help to Solve Problems
It seems logical, but how can we think that we’ll be able to solve problems adequately when we don’t know the unique ways that team members like to work and operate? There is so much running before walking when it comes to problem-solving, but the right conditions need to be created before we can successfully solve problems.
Taking the time to get to know team members and connect can lead to a better problem-solving process in the long-term. Misunderstandings can be rife when we don’t fully comprehend how others think, their perspectives and their motivations.
Understanding others helps to create key allies and we can do this by aligning the way we approach and interact with the person we want to connect with.
Harnessing humility and making effort to connect authentically means that ideas will start to flow freely, team members will feel valued and solutions will occur. It’s about unlocking people’s human qualities and responding in the best way.
Good Energy and Good Empathy
Good relationships are based on care and a desire to truly get to know a person. This is why empathy is a key trait to possess in a professional environment.
Emotional intelligence is only going to become an even more important quality for leaders and professionals to practice. It’s possible to foster positive energy in working environments by making a concerted effort to understand peers and connect with them in an appropriate way.
Authentic empathy doesn’t come naturally to some people, but if it’s a trait you possess then embracing it is paramount. High-quality connections are created when people feel valued and engaged and conducting yourself with empathy is a big part of this.
How can you start to practice empathy? Self-awareness and the ability to reflect are a massive part of this process and if you can learn to be constructively critical of your own actions and ideas and how they affect others around you, you’re on your way there.
Relationships Create Business
Connecting with clients and customers should be an integral part of your lead generation strategy. When you can, building intangible forms of connecting should be encouraged.
If you can create ways to demo products and services physically to customers and clients, try to pitch your business face-to-face and chat with customers at events etc then you’re using intimacy to sell.
Once you decide to use intimacy and authentic connections to bond with your clients and customers, you’re creating a myriad of new reasons that they can buy from you, instead of just looking at a product on a screen.
The human element you’re bringing into the equation means that there are more variables when customers and clients are deciding to take action – if you’re enhancing and growing positive relationships then they’ll be more inclined to work with you.
More Opportunities and Possibilities
When you start to use your personality and unique qualities to connect, you’ll create the conditions for new opportunities. Finding balance in your business relationships means that you can feel more confident when seeking out mutually-beneficial arrangements.
When you’re cultivating authentic relationships, people will be more inclined to work with you in different capacities and present you with opportunities they think you’ll be interested in.
You’ll also have more reason and self-assurance to ask for favors or business help when you have been growing relationships in a truthful way. Your connections will be stronger if you look at this the other way around too and consistently think about how you can help and improve the people around you that you’re connecting with – how can you help them achieve the next level in their own development?
It’s natural for us to seek out close and authentic relationships with others and we shouldn’t neglect this in a professional capacity, because technology is creating more distance.
By trying to connect with others again and using emotional intelligence, empathy, and humility to build relationships, you’ll find that people around you respond in a better way and you can solve problems together with mutual understanding.
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I'm Bryan Kramer. I coach executives and founders one to one, and I give keynotes on AI, leadership and human connection.