Everyone has a desire to be wanted and accepted. The more that desire is fed the easier it becomes for that person to feel connected. When you are connected, things flow and you feel good. You want to be in the situation. You want to talk. You want to engage. You want to learn and do more. Think about the last time you connected with someone or something. How did it make you feel? I am sure it was positive. Those adjectives are the same ones you want your team members to have.
I recently attended a family wedding and got an opportunity to catch up with cousins who hadn’t seen me in a long while. It was so easy to strike a conversation because of what we had in common. We talked about family. Team members don’t mind if you take the time to find out a little about them, like where they went to school, their pet name, their hobbies, etc. Make it a point to discover one thing about each team member that you can use to connect with them each time you have dialogue with them. Find common ground and you will get further in creating rapport and relationship with them.
Sometimes building rapport can be intrusive. When you don’t know someone well and you bombard them with a slew of questions it can be turn someone off. Think of ways that you can ease into this and make it more natural.