Relating In The Workplace - Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of Relating In The Workplace! Part 1 focused on how asking “Why?” to your elders can turn into a tumultuous event and that using visuals can lead to greater understanding between all parties involved. I’ll get into more details for both of these ideas given what I’ve experienced as well as what some of my peers have noticed as well.

The use of a visual is a powerful tool. It gives all who see it an opportunity to internalize what they see. The cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words, in my experience, is usually true. But this isn’t to say that depending on how you present yourself and your visual won’t also lead to a negative situation.

Whenever I present a thought or idea with a visual, I do it with an openness for feedback and constructive criticism so that I can eventually get to the bottom of “why did this occur in the first place,” which is to answer my “Why?” for what I am trying to understand. As you can see, I like to ask why a lot.

Some people can find visuals to be crude and intimidating since that’s “how children learn,” and adults are supposed to communicate utilizing their words. It can be viewed as a threat to someone’s intelligence because you have to show them a picture for them to understand as words are ineffective. This type of toxicity is something to be aware of before you enter a profession. Visuals make things simpler for the audience!

Enter the presentation of a visual informal and light. I usually do this by creating my visual to the best of my knowledge and then ask the individual I want to learn or get feedback from something like: “Hey [First Name], could we take a look at the diagram I made to represent the invoicing process for our customers? I wanted to see if what I understood and laid out is accurate to your understanding of the process.” This has always worked for me.

Presenting your visual in this manner turns the interaction from hostile to cooperative for the two parties involved. More often than not, I would be missing at least one key detail in anything I presented. This offered my team member a chance to enlighten me by showing me the correct process, or by helping me make the necessary updates to my visual to create a more accurate representation. This way no one’s ego gets hurt in the process.

I find that this process is relevant for me today in any interaction that I have where I’m trying to understand a complex process better. I currently work as a consultant, which means I have clients that I must try to understand how they work and do this as quickly and efficiently as possible, which is usually an improvement in their process.

Now, I’ve shared an example of “Why?” and how to get that answered through the form of sharing a visual. This is in a sense a form of “Servant Leadership,” and it is an extremely powerful way to get people on your side since you do a lot of the heavy lifting first, and then ask for inputs later. This makes people far more willing to work with you and help you in general, since they know you’ve already put a lot of effort into understanding something that they can easily help you with improving your understanding. What’s next is to learn how to understand yourself better so that you can ultimately relate better with others. You will go on to learn that relating effectively gives you more meaningful relationships (at work and in your personal life), helps you be more productive, and ultimately leads to a better life.