All of us want to connect with people—with friends, with co-workers, with clients and customers. Of course, connection isn’t something you achieve easily. It takes ongoing work and long-term commitment. What’s more, it requires a company culture that actually facilitates and promotes connectivity.

Start with a Self-Assessment

To build that kind of culture, start with yourself. Take a look in the mirror and assess the kind of personality you have. How do you prefer to communicate with people? How do you handle conflict? What kinds of people do you admire, and what kinds of people rub you the wrong way?

Basically, a little emotional intelligence and self-awareness go a long way and will help you to have a better sense of the kinds of connections you want to foster.

Practice Mindfulness

My next recommendation is to show some mindfulness. Yes, this has become something of a buzzword in recent years, but all I really mean is this: Think about the ways in which your actions impact others. Be more aware of all the touchpoints you have throughout the day, and the big and little ways in which your actions ripple through the organization.

That’s the kind of mindfulness that can help you develop really healthy connections.

Think Emotionally

I mentioned emotional intelligence above, and I’m going to mention it again here. Ultimately, emotion is how we connect with each other, so if you want to develop a culture of connection, you’ve got to think about your own feelings—and the feelings of your co-workers.

Pay attention to the emotional patterns of the people you spend your days with—how they react to things, what seems to frustrate them, what motivates them. Those are the primary issues you’ll want to focus on as you push a culture of connectivity.

Get Candid

One more suggestion: Don’t be afraid to employ honest emotional language as a way to motivate your team and boost morale. Something as simple as telling people you’re proud of them, are worried about them, or care about them can make a huge difference.

I’d love to talk with you more about culture-building—so let’s set up a time to chat soon! You can reach out at www.rickgoodman.com or call 888-267-6098.

Dr. Rick Goodman’s Solutions-Oriented Leader book is now available to order online. In this first-of-a-kind, comprehensive guide, author Dr. Rick Goodman leads you through the everyday challenges of the modern workplace while providing you with easy-to-implement solutions to achieve world-class results!