How can you ensure lasting change through relationship building?

Relationship building is super important, especially when you join a new company and start from Zero relationships. The trust you build will "get you to the starting line" of creating change. But, to ensure long lasting change, you need to build something that will last beyond you and your relationships. To make change in processes, the best way I've found is to encode your best practices into your software, and then drive adoption of that software across the organization. Your relationships will help you drive adoption of new processes and technology, so that the change you create is long lasting

Be honest and diplomatic. The world has enough horrible people who hide their meanness behind "honesty." If you have bad news, you don't have to soft shoe it, but don't be a jerk. Be able to take honest feedback too, even if you disagree. Look for common ground and build on that. If you come in with a genuine desire to help and move the ball forward for everyone involved, and think "we" rather than "me" it will show and you can build strong, honest relationships, even with folks you may not agree with a lot or who have different priorities. This trust can pay HUGE dividends, especially during a crisis. Be trustworthy yourself, and build trust as often as you can with others.

Ownership through shared knowledge experience is also crucial at this point. When similarities and common vision take their place a unity of passion to achieve is instantly formed!

To achieve lasting change, it is essential to prioritize relationship building. By fostering strong connections with others, individuals can create a solid foundation for sustainable transformation. Building meaningful relationships allows for open communication, trust, and collaboration, which are crucial elements in driving long-term change. By investing time and effort into cultivating these relationships, individuals can create a supportive network that will help them navigate challenges and achieve their goals. Ultimately, lasting change is not achieved in isolation but through the power of strong and enduring relationships.

First of all, you can only give what you have. If you are trustworthy as a person, then you can relate and build trust with others overtime. If you are not truthful, others will perceive this and may only work with you if they absolutely need to but they will only do this superficially. Once you have mutual trust and open communications with one another, it will be easier to help one another and be more accepting if there are occasional disagreements just because you may have differences of opinion. This is a great grounding exercise to seek consensus as well. It will be a lot easier to be accepted and for others to follow your lead if the foundation in your relationship is based on trust.

Effective communication acts as a bridge that connects people involved in change, facilitating mutual understanding, fostering trust, managing expectations, promoting adaptability, and motivating commitment toward achieving shared objectives. This is because it directly impacts clarity of objectives, mutual understanding, managing expectations, sharing feedback, adjusting the change approach as needed to adapt to changing circumstances, and driving personal and collective commitment to achieving long-term objectives

Friedrich Nietzsche once famously said Language dictates consciousness. A lot of such sayings remain bucketed for long until something happens and one realises the depth of its meaning. As an ex academician am most comfortable discussing about illnesses their origin symptomatology etc with students but when I entered private practice , though on the outside my job profile changed but in the inside my mindset was still same.My communication was very theoretical about illnesses which I specialise in, trying to explain simple situations in complex language I was taken aback when patients left a note of dissatisfaction and overwhelm.This was the time to look within. My language and the theoretical approach needed course correction.

Communication is also a great way to make sure the hidden voices are heard. Also a way to ensure that larger pictures are painted to help staff work together to ensure goals are met.

From experience I can say that communication helps build strong relationships, but the TYPE of communication is very important depending on what you are offering. Face to face discussion/meeting goes at the top of my list. No matter what, once a month at least I make sure I have a meeting or discussion with my stakeholders to ensure that they are fine and also to find out whether they have any concern that they would like to share. The frequency of the f2f meet-up depends on the type of service you are offering.

I think we must cheer on our teams, be open to feedback, and be willing to give authentic feedback...even when it is hard for people to hear.

Building a community of trust and friendship amongst your peers is the first step needed, in order to build a collaborative work environment. It holds true in the education field, business world and indeed even in our personal lives, that if you do not make others feel safe and valued, they will not feel comfortable in sharing their insights, opinions or ideas openly. Once this trust, this environment is developed; your coworkers will start to "give and take" in a more productive discussion of how to achieve best results for given situations. It is imperative, at that point, to cultivate and encourage the continued growth of this collaborative culture, by assuring each contributor feels that they add value.

Show appreciation for others' contributions and achievements. Acknowledge their efforts publicly and privately, and give credit where it's due. Feeling valued and respected strengthens bonds and motivates continued engagement.

This has almost become cliche, but it is super important. You have to be able to bring others to the table, help each other, and look for areas that are wins for everyone involved. Even if you start small, you can build really strong relationships that go from small favors and wins for each other to nailing big mergers. Like everything else, this has to be genuine and you have to care about their needs, desires too, but being a collaborator will open doors to getting difficult things done. It also builds great relationships and expands your circle will expand greatly as word spreads that you are not a zero sum, selfish person and can be a great add to any team.

Strategic collaboration facilitates synergy of skills and resources, promotes shared commitment, fosters learning and continuous improvement, provides mutual support, increases acceptance of change, and strengthens the relationship between stakeholders, all of which are key elements in ensuring lasting change.

One thing I have noticed during my career that anything which has been successful is a collaboration. Within my role if myself and client do not collaborate then we will not be successful. Likewise with the candidates that I place I need to collaborate with them to get the result which they also want. To do this I need to plan and be authentic, honest and consistent.

Always celebrate. Celebrate the small wins, the big ones, and build on those. You don't have to always be eating cake, but some public praise or recognition will fuel the fire of the organization and let people know their efforts are appreciated.

Building lasting communication means listening carefully, being kind, and talking clearly. It's important to trust each other, be consistent, and solve problems together. Stay open and flexible, and always make sure to check back in to keep the conversation going.

Make sure to celebrate the small wins too and do not discount small tokens of appreciation. Working in higher ed I have seen how motivational a tech sticker or t-shirt can be for all audiences (staff included)! As a leader try to intentionally make time and space for celebration and reflection. At the end of each semester, I ask the team to put together an overview of the semester and we celebrate our accomplishments. Honestly, I am constantly amazed and impressed by what we are able to achieve in 15 weeks!

In my role celebrating the small and big wins really help to build lasting relationships. Whether you win or lose, you can always take something from the situation and use this to motivate and improve or continue to learn. Also, within my role our business has regular incentives which also celebrate success.

When I was in college( usa) we listened to Zig Ziglar…help other people get what they want and u’ll get what u want. At work here in India I make it clear to everyone that their #1 obligation is to provide a better standard of living for their families vs what they experienced… Who would disagree? We then start with good process AND build the discipline to do what’s required to get better every hour and every day…internal habit change… This takes time…sometimes 2,3,5 years but eventually it’s a winning culture IF u have the patience. Trust is a big bonus one earns along the way

1. Empathy Amplification: Genuine empathy, rooted in understanding and mirroring emotions, acts as a catalyst for lasting change through profound bonds and mutual support. 2. Vulnerability as a Bridge: Shared vulnerability creates a safe space for honesty and growth, fostering trust and authenticity essential for enduring change.

One thing to consider is that by fostering relationships you move from a transactional framing to a tranformational framing, so the way in which the learning is approached is more intrinsic and personalized. This leads to a different level of engagement and, in turn, a more lasting impact. The learning sticks because it is meaningful and connected, instead of just something you have to accomplish to check a box.