Be inquisitive
Share your opinions to form connections, understand motivations, and cement relationships.
Stay connected to your peers. Grab a coffee or lunch with them from time to time. Find time to build bridges with people on teams that you don’t often work with. Stop and chat when you pass in the hallways.
Just like with your team, share news and opinions. Unlike with your team, be open to sharing your views a little more freely. Stay professional - don’t say anything about someone that you wouldn’t repeat to their face, however reluctantly.
Why bother? Sharing information and opinion helps everyone see where they fit in an organisation. It’ll help you understand everyone else’s thought processes and goals, and help them understand yours - which makes it easy to form alliances, anticipate change, find new ways to support each other, and create new opportunities for you, your team, and your org.
When to take this action
This action is from 'Keep your ear to the ground' and should be used when you're networking, when you're out of the loop, when you've got news to share
Need something else?
one-to-ones
Only connect
Don't just talk about your team member's work - tap into what they know, and share your own news.
team-meeting
Harness the rumour mill
Help your team stay connected - and keep your agenda moving - by sharing rumours and gossip.
with-your-boss
Get the lowdown
Your boss has access to a different world of news and rumour. They might not share, but there's only one way to find out!.