What are some effective ways to build a professional relationship with a coworker?

One of the best ways to build a strong business relationship with a coworker is to get to know them personally. When you take the time to get to know someone it demonstrates you care about them as more than just a coworker, you care about them as a person. It allows you to communicate and collaborate in a more meaningful way, not to mention exhibit a level of empathy that otherwise would not exist.

Watch boundaries. As a recruiter with an educational counseling background, it would be very easy (for me) to slip into therapist mode. Not appropriate. Personality quirks can be exploited by a needy or control freak co worker. As a recruiter, I hear stories ad infinitum of people sharing too much and getting burned.

Start by being professional. Ensure there are boundaries early on and that expectations are communicated - for example, you may wish to create a company '10 commandments' on your values. Invest in HR early on including comprehensive inductions and toolkits for new hires as well as KPIs and job descriptions. Post Covid-19 where hybrid work is common, keep days at the office as key meeting and in-person connection days (without forcing team activities). Be mindful of your hires personal life (i.e. commitments with fitness, family or friends) which may mean your suggestion to meet for after work drinks to 'connect' may become more of a nuisance than a joy. Refrain from after hours messaging or micromanaging. Be respectful and have empathy!

You need an authentic and positive attitude, because people can sense whether they are just saying something or whether they really mean it. Always start by assuming that people are doing their best. Does that seem strange to you? Then you need to work on yourself first before you take responsibility for others. If people are not performing, they need to find out what the causes are. This requires empathy, appreciation and congruence,

Take an interest in the lives of your colleagues and employees. But be careful: don't ask your colleagues pushy questions, but proceed with caution and also share something from your private life.

There should be open communication, mean initiations open and friendly conversations. Share information about yourself and express genuine interest in learning about coworker’s interests and experiences. Most importantly we should be active listening to our coworker. Practicing active listening to demonstrate that you value and respect your coworker’s thoughts and opinions. This also helps in building trust and understanding.

Sharing is caring! Enable and empower your colleagues and employees. Put others in the spotlight instead of being the centre of attention yourself. If you are proud of your employee, let them know immediately.

I find it difficult to celebrate failure. You should reflect on the lessons learnt and the resulting product improvements, new strategies, different target groups or whatever can be seen as a positive result of the failure. Successes should definitely be celebrated, however small they may be.

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel. Think about it before you act.

Rely on and make yourself vulnerable to the right people involving those relationships where you have positive reasons but cannot guarantee favourable results.