How to Work with others

By Adrian Kawula

Working with others can be a tedious and often unrewarding assignment; however that is only half of the equation. The other half revolves around you because the attitude that others have towards you can be influenced by the way you treat them. During my internship in the Mississauga Sports Council the basis of my work revolves around the cooperation and goodwill of the martial arts schools that I visit. Without their input my project would never get off the ground. I like to believe that part of the reason for this is how I approach my interactions with the owners and managers. In this blog I will discuss several key things that you must remember to do in order to establish a good working relationship with others.

  1. Be polite and courteous

It’s always said that “what goes around comes around” and that also applies when dealing with others. It’s obvious that if you treat someone badly that you should not expect any better treatment from them. Additionally any behaviour that comes off as degrading, insulting or impolite basically guarantees that you will not get any help from them. I was always taught that I should be courteous to others no matter if I liked them or not because there is no way of knowing whether or not you might need their help in the future. Usually the more polite you are to others the more beneficial it is to you because even if they might not be able or willing to help you they can at least give you some good advice or tips.

  1. Be honest and transparent

One of the biggest reasons that businesses, agreements or even relationships break down is because of a lack of trust and transparency between the two parties and by transparency and don’t mean it in  literal sense. I mean being open and honest with the people that you work with and not going behind their back. There are multiple ways that I like to approach this. Firstly, you have to be honest in telling the association about your work, goals and intention. Then keep them informed on the progress of your work and what exactly you are doing. Finally, show them how the final project will look to get their feedback and approval. By doing these things I find that I get along better with those with whom I work, it builds trust between us and negates the possibility of nasty surprises further down the road which could ruin the project for either side.

  1. Build a relationship with those you work with

Okay, let me be clear from the start, by this I DON’T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD DATE THOSE YOU WORK WITH!!! I’m sure as you have noticed in school and work it is easier to work with friends rather than people who you don’t know. I took this thought and applied it to my work. It turns out that it works as you become less of a stranger to that person and they become more willing to work with you.