Can Drywall really fix the workplace?

In my previous role, I helped clients with their offices – it was my goal to make them as functional and beautiful as possible. If you are going to spend 8 hours at the office, you want to love where you work!

Change Relationships Not The Floor Plan

One day I got a call to come out and measure a space – the new challenge I had been given that day was to move around the furniture to fit into two new offices. The bigger space had been divided in half by drywall. It wasn’t acoustical privacy that was needed – no, the wall had been built because these two treasured, long-term employees had conflict and were not getting along.

I had not had a client go to this extreme in the past – usually, someone would get moved to a new cubicle, but drywall? I remember scratching my head thinking to myself – “how did we end up here?”- but took the measurements and came up with a floor plan later.  The floor plan helped, but I cannot think in reflection how a 1:1 Relationship Guide or Review of Reference Profiles might have been more impactful.

As I have headed into this new role, I am getting to help companies before they start building up walls and it is rejuvenating to foster healthy workplace relationships.

Relationship Guide & Reference Profiles

Three simple tips we have found companies using the PI 1:1 Relationship Guide & Reference Profiles are:

1. Manager / Employee relationships: For managers, it is recommended to understand your employee’s profile, but we also recommend doing a 1:1 relationship guide for direct relationship review.  You would be surprised at what insights you can learn from this handy tool!
2. Peer relationships: We recommend when onboarding new employees or forming new teams, having employees share their Reference Profile with others. We have seen employees learn to respect the differences and strengths each person brings to the team.  Employees feel they are heard and better understood.
3. Self-Reflection: When each employee is given their own report, they can truly see the beauty they bring to a relationship and areas they may need to work on more. Being self-aware can help employees know how to best work with others and avoid potential missteps in the office.

However, you choose to maximize the Profiles and Relationship Guides will determine the success of the strong relationships of your team.  If you have hit a moment where you are considering building a wall – know that we are here at the BecomeMore Group to help guide you through moving your team from a dysfunctional team to a dream team.