How To Build Positive Relationships To Advance Your Career

Written By Abena Sey

September 26, 2020

To advance your career, you need to be connected with the right people.  Professional connections are important for increasing your expertise in your field and building your professional network.  These connections can be made in your place of work, or in a digital community of like-minded individuals.  I believe that this begins with building positive relationships.  Here are 6 ways that you can build positive relationships to advance your career.  

1 - Create Your Professional Learning Network

When you make the decision to grow personally and professionally, it is important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals.  One reason for this is the need to learn from and stay motivated by others who share similar goals and interests as you.  When you are in the company of people who desire growth, it will keep you motivated to continue on your path to success.  Where do you find these individuals?  Your professional community can include colleagues from your place of work, the community you form on social media, or mentorship through reading books about people you admire and content created by individuals you enjoy learning from.  There is a wealth of knowledge and expertise you can access through your professional learning network.  Whether it is a physical or digital community, you can begin growing in your field through the people you surround yourself with.

2 - Use Professional Development As Networking Opportunities

If your organization provides professional development opportunities, whether these are in-house workshops, webinars, or conferences, make an effort to get connected with people who have similar interests or who provide the resources you seek on your career advancement journey.  You can start by connecting with the facilitator of the professional development workshop through their social media.  Not only will you put yourself in a position to receive valuable resources, but you will also have access to others who follow that person.  You can grow your community and increase your access to resources through social media.  You may also form connections at workshops or conferences that take place in person.  To do so, pay attention to the attendees.  What questions are they asking?  What contributions are they making?  Are these resonating with you?  Do they show similar interests as you?  Could there be the potential to continue learning from or collaborating with these individuals?  If you responded yes to any of these questions, that is a good indication that you should use this opportunity to expand your network.  Make an effort to get to know people at conferences who you feel can add value to your network.  Be sure to present how you may bring value to their network in exchange.

3 - Be A Positive Person

If you are a positive person, you will attract people to you.  People will naturally want to work with you because of your positive demeanor.  The keys to a positive personality are found within.  Begin with having a positive outlook about yourself.  Create realistic goals for yourself, believe that you will achieve them, and work everyday to achieve them.  The most important thing to display is a belief in your ability to attain your goals.  Next, be polite to everyone you come into contact with at your place of work.  Be courteous, respectful, and helpful.  Your goal is to form professional, collegial relationships.  These individuals are not necessarily your friends, and the relationships with your colleagues may not grow past your workplace.  It is important to make this distinction, so that you always remain professional.  You must also always be mindful of the fact that having good professional relationships are necessary to contribute to a positive work culture and environment.  This will increase your productivity at work, because you will have the time and energy to devote to your work, without wasting valuable time engaging in unproductivity.  Maintain balance between activities that help form positive work relationships, and those that help you achieve your productivity goals.  You should not build positive work relationships to the detriment of your time on task while at work.  Say yes to activities that will help you achieve the right balance.        

4 - Bring Value

Be the kind of employee that brings value to your organization.  Maximize on your skillset, complete projects efficiently and accurately, and ask for more work.  Doing this will help you build a reputation of a highly effective employee.  Keep your skillset updated.  Take professional development workshops to get current in any areas that may require improvement.  You may also choose to do your own personal development to build your existing skills or create new ones. Be available to share what you know to those who ask for help.  These are all strategies to build your personal reputation as one who brings value to your organization.

5 - Choose To Forgive

It can be emotionally taxing on yourself if you hold on to grudges in your place of work.  This takes away from your energy and negatively impacts your productivity.  When you hold on to grudges, you give control to the person you have grievances with.  Take back control by forgiving the person.  Forgiveness releases you from negative thinking and the burden of replaying the experience of the grievance.  Move on, keep your distance if you must, learn from what happened, and grow forward.

6 - Deliver On Your Promises

Deliver on your promises to yourself and others.  Be sure to follow through with what you say you will do.  This will build your self-confidence and will give others the impression that you are reliable.  The opposite will happen if you don’t follow through.  If you are not able to meet an obligation, don’t procrastinate in communicating that.  Communicate with the individual(s) affected and come up with a plan to either get the job done or pass it on to someone else.  The most important thing is to communicate any challenge you are experiencing right away.  You will maintain more credibility if you are honest about your situation.  Also, it is wise to only commit to what you are reasonably able to do.  Do not overcommit yourself.  Only do what you really want to do, and choose activities that will support your career and personal goals.  If you sign up for something that you do not really want to do, it may result in lower quality performance, resentment, and time wasted.  Set realistic expectations, commit reasonably, and deliver on your promises.

Relationship building is key for growing your professional network.  Human beings are wired for connection, and forming the right professional connections will help you engage in activities that advance your career.  Try these 6 strategies today!