In some ways email has disabled our ability to connect with one another in the workplace.  We can all think of a time when we or someone we worked with “hid” behind an email rather than demonstrate the courage to have a real conversation. The intentionality of connection can disrupt the rhythm of the workplace that fuels competition and competing interests to reveal synergies in thinking, build internal support systems, and create safe space for blowing off steam.

Enhance your connections by taking the time to ask about people’s lives, hobbies, personal goals and visions for themselves and their families.  Listen.  Relate to them through body language and facial expression. Be fully present and focused on them in the moment. Refrain from checking your phone, glancing at passersby, and other distractions. How you interact directly with others affects the energy of the relationship and will determine the strength of your connections.