1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to do something social with your colleagues, 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: not every day, but at least every few weeks. Many 5 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: years ago, I got a question from a woman who 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: was a new mom and was also newly in management. 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: She knew that it would be a smart career strategy 8 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: to take her team members out for dinner or drinks. 9 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: Doing so would help them see her in a more 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: relaxed setting. They'd start to trust her more. That way, 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: if she needed to give tough feedback, it would feel different. 12 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: It wouldn't feel so harsh. It would feel like she 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: was on their team. The problem, though, was that she 14 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: commuted on top of her full time job, so she 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: only got to spend about ninety minutes with her baby 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: before the child's bedtime. She understandably hated the idea of 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: giving that time up. So this seemed like quite a dilemma, 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: one of those no one can have at all moments. 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: But I had a question. Did her team want her 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: to take them out every night? Well? No, I don't 21 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: care how cool you are. No one wants to go 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: out with her boss every night. So I suggested broadening 23 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: her time frame. If she took her team out every 24 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: two weeks or so, that would go a long way 25 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: towards building a better relationship. Her team members would definitely 26 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: feel a lot closer to her if they went out 27 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 1: every other week. It also meant she'd be spending twenty 28 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: eight out of thirty evenings per month with her baby, 29 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,119 Speaker 1: which seems pretty good to me. Rather than pitt work 30 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,119 Speaker 1: against family, she could take the long view of time. 31 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: Taking the long view of times, she could be the 32 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: kind of manager teams liked and the kind of mom 33 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: who was there pretty much every night. More broadly, as 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: we look at this topic, I am always fascinated to 35 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: see how many people think that socializing with colleagues is 36 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: a nice but not critical part of the job. Indeed, 37 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: I've had people tell me that they consider themselves good 38 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: at time management because they don't waste time chatting with 39 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: their colleagues. They shut themselves in their offices, work through lunch, 40 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: and get stuff done. I understand why people might do this. 41 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: Many times, it's because of family responsibilities. People have to 42 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: make a five thirty p m. Daycare pickup, or they 43 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: hate the idea of bringing work home, but there are downsides. 44 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: Being promoted and then managing effectively isn't just about getting 45 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: work done. It's about inspiring other people to want to 46 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: do their best work for you. People want to do 47 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: their best work for people they like and trust. The 48 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: best way to get people to like and trust you 49 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: is to spend relax time with them when you're not 50 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: just giving orders. Even if you have no intention of 51 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: ever moving into management, professional relationships still matter. Other people 52 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,239 Speaker 1: might have insights into office politics, or might have made 53 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: stupid mistakes that they can warn you from making. Learning 54 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: this over a beer can save you all sorts of time. 55 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: Of course, it doesn't have to be happy hour. You 56 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: could take your team out for lunch or breakfast. A 57 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: few managers have told me they intentionally start the happy 58 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: hour at four o'clock so people can still leave by five. 59 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: That's a great way to include people who might have 60 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: to get home by a certain time. As for informal 61 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: get to gather as colleagues just do occasionally. If people 62 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: ask you, I'd encourage you to say yes. Sometimes you 63 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: don't have to say yes every time, but if the 64 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: answer is always know, people stop asking Saying yes occasionally 65 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: means you stay in the loop. So figure out what 66 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,839 Speaker 1: socially you can do with your colleagues in the next 67 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: week or two. If your office has a creative way 68 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: for busy people to get to know each other, I'd 69 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: love to hear about it. You can email me at 70 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime, 71 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making 72 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to 73 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 74 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,600 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 75 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:22,160 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, 76 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me 77 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media 78 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all 79 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying 80 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. 81 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I 82 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 83 00:04:51,240 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. Two