People have treated me kindly as a new team member over the years:
- At our very first meeting, a colleague brought me a Coke. Wow!
- At another first meeting, the receptionist stood up, shook my hand, and walked me through the office to meet with her boss (my new colleague). Wow!
- At our first meeting, my new mother-in-law gifted me with one-on-one quality time. Wow!
Each of these people treated me like their best customer.
And it worked. In a customer relationship, we give the customer what they need (goods or services), and they reimburse us with cash and credit. This is the exchange of value that puts a smile on their face and ours. With new team members, there is an exchange of value as well.
Think about a situation, either in your family or in business, where you were felt welcomed. Remember what people said and what they did to make you feel so welcomed a new team member.
Author Gary Chapman is known for The Five Love Languages. He believes that these are the basis for all strong human relationships. In business, people are likely to show their appreciation or liking of us by:
- words of affirmation
- acts of service
- giving gifts
- quality time
- physical touch (a fist bump, handshake, elbow bump)
The way we respond to them lets them know something more about us. Ideally, we do this in a way that they will find something to like about us.
Knowing, and liking us are the first two steps in forming a solid team relationship. The next step is doing whatever it takes to begin to trust each other. I address this in a separate blog.
QUESTIONS
- What did people do or say in the past to welcome you as a new team member?
- What might you do now to get to know and get to like new team members?
Chuck Scharenberg is the Founder of More Profit More Freedom, a consultancy that supports the execution of large-scale growth for small businesses. His practice has successfully grown businesses with processes that identify potential roadblocks and mitigation schemes to accelerate realistic execution..
Solving the Right problems by asking the Right questions!