Striving to always learn something new and evolve is crucial in the workplace. The business world changes every day so staying at the top of your industry is crucial for success. While there is often an opportunity to continue your education at work with training manuals and documents, there is also an opportunity to learn from your coworkers.
Coworker relationships are extremely important and vital to your success in the workplace, so building a positive rapport with these individuals is important. One of the ways to do this is by getting to know your coworkers and learning something new from them. Here are three ways to deepen your connection and gain knowledge with the help of your coworkers:
Learn a New Skill
Take advantage of an opportunity to learn a new skill from one of your coworkers. Have you always been intrigued by gaining more knowledge about the sales or marketing side of your company? Sit down with a colleague from this division and talk to them about the sales and marketing department. The more that everyone can learn from one another, the better it will be for the company. If you get the chance to pick the brain of one of your coworkers make sure to return the favor by teaching them something in return. They will appreciate this new knowledge and new friendship.
While learning job related skills from coworkers is beneficial, there may also be an opportunity to acquire new soft skills from your associates as well. Perhaps one of your coworkers is very personable and handles client interaction very well. Follow their lead and learn new ways to communicate like this individual does.
Learn Something New About the Company
Many companies have manuals and websites with information about the background of the organization, and while reading this material is helpful, it is often times a high level overview of the company. There is so much to learn about the organization you are working for so consider tapping into the minds of one of your coworkers. If this individual has been with the company for a few years they may have some helpful insight about the company culture, the relationships of those in each department and the overall political structure of the office. The more you know about your company and how to contribute to company growth and culture, the better suited you will be to contribute to the team.
Learn About the Other Person
This may seem like a no brainer, but oftentimes we get so caught up in the daily tasks of our job and deadlines that we forget to learn about the other individuals around us. Many offices want to create a team environment and in order for everyone to function as a team, there needs to be a personal connection between employees. Take a few minutes to learn about your coworkers likes and interests. This will help you to create common ground so it will be easier to communicate with this person and it will make you feel comfortable with them when working on projects. If you feel more at ease with your coworkers it will be much easier to collaborate on projects together because you will be much more comfortable with asking questions and brainstorming solutions to problems.
At the end of the day, employers are happy to see their team members getting along with one another and solving problems together. You spend a great deal of time with your coworkers, so why not learn from them? The amount of knowledge you acquire and the friendship you gain may just surprise you.
Featured photo credit: Man And Woman Having Business Meeting With Bag, Drinks And Technology via stokpic.com
