Updated June 9, 2023
Repair Professional Relationships
To repair professional relationships normally involves managing and resolving issues or conflicts between two or more people in a professional environment. This can include accepting mistakes or misunderstandings, communicating frankly and honestly, and working together to find mutually acceptable solutions to problems.
How To Repair Professional Relationships?
In any corporate organization or entity, no matter how much good you are at your work, somewhere down the line, you might have to face people that do not go along with you. That does not mean you are a bad manager. It simply means your ideas or philosophies contradict the people you are working with or intend to work with. People generally tend to remain disengaged from the ones with whom they disagree and limit their contact to them. This strategy can work for you to a certain extent, but if you had to work with him on any important project as a team, then remaining recluse from the person would certainly not work.
#1. Check The Engagement To Repair Professional Relationships
Any arrangement or relationship with a colleague depends on work, nature, and position. There is a professional relationship between you and the people around you as you are working on a single project, you are in a single department, your nature and ideas match, and it also depends on the post you both are occupying. There is an amalgamation of all these factors that count for the kind of relationship you have.
It is best to trust your intuition if you see or feel any sign of disengagement between your colleague/s. If you see things getting out of control and have more important things to do, it is better to ignore them and concentrate on the task ahead of you. Time is said to be a big healer, so leaving this for now and focusing on them later.
#2. Reflect On Yourself To Repair Professional Relationships
A human tends to find fault in others to disgrace colleagues, but it is difficult to find flaws in oneself. Before looking at other’s faults, we should find our own mistakes and shortcomings. Do not focus on the other person’s negative traits and continue to behave in a way that worsens them. Thinking that co-workers are incapable of doing a particular task and doing it without their help might result in making them unapproachable. If you think they are negligent and you know everything better than everyone, it will distance you and hammer the productivity. Colleagues might start adopting what is known as “learned helplessness” and might stop making further attempts.
#3. Dissuade From Conversation To Repair Professional Relationships
If you have decided to improve your professional relationship, you initially face disappointments as you might have to face their irrational or irritating behavior. You might feel your efforts have gone down the drain in this situation. But the trick is not to get disappointed; instead, try to dissuade them from the conversation. Find some excuse to lighten the mood, like discussing the start of a project or a New Year resolution, which can allow you to broach a subject.
#4. Change The Dynamics To Repair Professional Relationships
Change the style and pattern you have been following, and then see the difference it would bring to your professional relationships. Another proven strategy is to note the points each had said of you, which could help you analyze the patterns and see to what level you both are pushing and pulling each other.
We often think that our good or adverse relationships are permanent and that we can’t get along, but we are wrong about ourselves and the one with whom we disagree. Of course, it is quite true that you cannot change their personality. Still, we can, at least, turn them into different people, and by understanding the different dynamics in relationships, we can make many changes and turn hostile relationships into positive ones.
#5. Find The Cause Of Discord To Repair Professional Relationships
Relationships that require repairs can never appear similar nor look alike, as different ranges and depths of complexities are involved. You might be beyond what your colleague might perceive as above competency level. Take note of what will happen in your perceived relationship to know what to do. Generally, contradictions also occur when there is a communication gap or when there is no sharing of ideas or information between each other. It could also be because of cultural differences and a lack of understanding of behavior between the two. Whatever the reason, it is always best to note where things go wrong. If we have found our mistakes, we can rectify them sooner.
#6. Get Rid Of Ego To Repair Professional Relationships
Keeping professional relationships on track requires you to shed your ego and pride. We often ponder on issues like who is right or wrong, and when you are rigid on your point that you are right, you cannot think of restoring the relationship. To forge any relationship, it is best to confess your mistakes and try to solve them mutually. Try to find out the solution instead of running away from the problem.
#7. Find The Point of Discord To Repair Professional Relationships
Showing compassion and understanding is a basis of a healthy professional relationship. Create a space to show your emotions to your colleague. Judge the problem by looking into the other person’s perspective. How does the other person see things? Is he feeling embarrassed, misjudged, or misunderstood? But do not anticipate his feelings about an issue or a question, as his way of thinking naturally differs from yours. That is the reason why differences have occurred between the two.
#8. Neutral Ground To Repair Professional Relationships
When you approach the other person, you fix the meeting in a neutral place. Go to some nice restaurant, and instead of indulging in the debate where things go wrong, try to create a mutual space between the two. It could help you focus on a bigger picture or share a common goal on a much higher level. You would then feel a sense of togetherness. But remember that your relationship does not change overnight. It might take a few days, but at least the discord or hatred between the two will eventually subsidize
#9. Do Not Overemphasize Anything To Repair Professional Relationships
Do not try to convince others with arguments that you are a trustworthy person. Never try to overemphasize yourself. By being true to yourself, you can easily deepen the strong relationship between each other. One of the best ways is to offer the other person without seeking anything in return which will generate a law of reciprocity, revive the strong bonding and make sure to retain your promise.
#10. Involve Others In To Repair Professional Relationships
It happens when a relationship becomes sour, and there is no chance left for you to settle the differences mutually. Involve some common friend/s who know both of you and are trustworthy to help sort out things. Inviting a third party lets the accord get settled very easily. This strategy applies wherever the relationships are involved, whether personal or professional.
#11. Refrain From Gossiping To Repair Professional Relationships
Even though you have a grudge against someone, that does not entitle you to vent your frustration by talking trash about them. You know, gossip only builds tension and stress. It wastes your time and shows you in a bad light, not just with the person with whom you have developed a bad relationship in the work environment. But if you sincerely want to heal your relationship and regain your friend’s trust, love, and cooperation, stop gossiping.
#12. Learn To Listen To Repair Professional Relationships
Generally, it happens whenever we have a bad relationship. We take out our frustration by speaking loudly and harshly. Often it turns into an ugly brawl. People only try to focus on their point without thinking about others, even those sitting there and unintentionally becoming spectators of your conflicts. If you want to speak, you should learn to listen.
Accept the apology of the other person and apologize. If a situation comes that you both have apologized for, then you would find yourself landing in an open field for the future. If you learn from your mistakes, these burning bridges and issues are not crucial in the long run. Your place in work and the relationships that you have forged with each other are both very valuable. You should ensure that you are putting all the effort into retaining a positive relationship at the workplace so that you both remain connected throughout your career.
#13. Do Not Hide Any Information To Repair Professional Relationships
Even if you have a bad relationship with your colleague, do not keep any important information to yourself. It is unprofessional, as it means you betray the company, not the person. Of course, you both are part of a team working on a common project, so hiding the important information can cause a terrible blockade in the functioning or even loss to your company. If not for personal sake but professionally too, any information which is strategically very important and without which your colleague is found incapable of working should be instantly informed. This step can again restore trust.
#14. Help Your Colleagues And Repair Professional Relationships
You would ask why you would help your colleague if he is not interested and has done wrong to you. It is quite understandable to think this way. Still, if we believe the other way round, if you help your colleague in case he is in a problem or having any issue with any project, you are not helping him but helping the company. Secondly, if you want to restore the co-worker relationship, what better strategy can you adopt than this one?
Conclusion
In short, once you have landed in a company or an organization, it is obvious that you have to face many kinds of people. You can carry on fairly well with some. But with others, it would be difficult for you to even talk with them. But we need to change ourselves to get on with the world first if we want to change others. Though the above points might not be practically possible for many of you to follow, at least you can find and improve your weaknesses. Slowly your changed personality will be attractive and lucrative for others.
