Are You Connected? (To People, Not Your Phone)

Glance at online news headlines. Check email. Debrief the boss. Go to staff meeting. Return calls. Check email. Review new sales results. Look at budget numbers. Check email. Take a conference call with a vendor. Gobble granola bar. Do an employee coaching session. Check email. Update Facebook. Meet with your project team.

Is your work schedule like this? Bouncing from one thing to another like those randomly dancing lottery balls just before the winning numbers are posted—all frenetic, unconnected energy?

In a busy world where meaningful work relationships require commitment, E.M. Forester's phrase to “only connect” is a good reminder. So is what author John Maxwell writes in Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: “Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”

As you look back over the past year and think about the new one ahead, consider if you’re as meaningfully connected as you'd like to be. If not, use this three-pronged approach to build quality associations.

1. Connect with yourself. Re-engage with what’s important to you. Psychologist Daniel Goleman’s work with emotional intelligence is highly instructive: “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.”

Ask yourself:

• - What work did I do today in support of my personal and professional goals?
• - Whose life did I touch today? Did I help make it better?
• - What one thing did I do today to renew my energy and increase my knowledge or skills?

2. Connect with colleagues. Establishing relationships and alliances with those around you at work—at every level within the organization and externally, as well—is a make-or-break element for career success. Behavior strategist Joe Takash says, “Many people assume that only new contacts will help them achieve their goals, but in reality, many breakthroughs happen within existing networks.”

Make it a point today to:

• - Ask someone how they’re doing and listen with your head and heart to their answer.
• - Say thank you.
• - Celebrate an accomplishment.

3. Connect with your boss. Engage your boss in a meaningful exchange. Ask him if there’s anything you can do to help out. Invite her to a coffee chat so you can understand things from her perspective. Ask him about his favorite book. Look to establish some shared interests.

If meaningful connections are your goal, make it a habit to halt your bouncing balls for a few minutes each day so you can make the time to make the connection!

Image credit: Jeffapalooza