Good relationships are important in every part of our lives – at home, school, college, work and in our social lives. Problems or discord in any of our relationships can cause practical and emotional havoc and will arguably have a bigger impact on our lives than almost anything else. It dominates our thinking and almost every aspect of our life.
We are born to be socially interactive creatures and it’s important to nearly every one of us to be loved, liked and approved of.
When relationships become difficult, or fail, it results in a tremendous sense of loss and self-worth. It’s an emotional roller-coaster of anger, sadness, fear, guilt, regret and despair.
At a practical level, we become excluded from particular social groups and gatherings because it’s difficult for others to have us there any more, causing us to feel isolated, lonely resentful, upset and very sad.
You will almost certainly be familiar with some or all of this. If you have problems in a relationship at work, it can it can affect how others perceive and behave toward you at work – for better or worse; and potentially, it can be damaging to your career.
If you’re having a difficult relationship at home, it’s hard not to take it to work with you and, whether it’s with your parents, siblings, your partner or your children, it can be all-consuming, because for most people, these are the most important relationships in our lives.
I’ve worked with many individuals over the years and found that relationships are the thing that have had and are almost always currently having, the biggest impact in their lives.
I’ve also worked for many years within organisations, focusing on relationship building and within teams at every level in the workplace. I have found that building and maintaining good – and effective – relationships depends on a few key things, which are also crucial to relationships outside of work and at home.