How to Repair a Damaged Professional Relationship

This post originally appeared on theHarvard Business Review.

But if it’s your boss or a teammate, ignoring them is a losing strategy.

Here’s how to buck up and repair a professional relationship that’s gone off the rails.

First, it’s important to recognize thatmaking the effort is worthwhile.

But resolving this tension will actually aid your own productivity.

Next,recognize your own culpability.

It’s easy todemonize your colleague(He turned in the report late!

She’s always leaving work early!).

But you’re almost certainly contributing to the dynamic in some way, as well.

To get anywhere, you have to understand your role in the situation.

Now it’s time topress reset.

Instead, take a stab at make them a partner in your effort.

Would that be OK with you?"

Finally, you need tochange the dynamic.

That’s why McLain Smith stresses the importance of disrupting your relationship dynamic.

(If you were less vehement, perhaps she’d be less resistant.)

But we underestimate ourselves, and each other.

How to Repair a Damaged Professional Relationship| Harvard Business Review

Image adapted fromApatsaraandDesign Seed(Shutterstock).

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