Peer to Peer Magazine

83 WWW.ILTANET.ORG –– at least not all the time. Walk down the hall to check on a project, remembering the nuances of nonverbal communication. If you can't do that in the moment, pick up the phone and talk to someone. » Build Positive Relationships: We are all busy, and that just keeps geing worse. What seems to suffer the most when we are busy is that we no longer take the time to build relationships with those we work with. Be open and transparent with your team, but not just about work issues. Talk about your goals and personal values. Show your emotion and be authentic. Heck, even be vulnerable once and a while. No maer what, though, don't make everything about you. » Treat People with Respect: As we get busier, respect and civility are oen abandoned. Respect comes in different forms. We learned as children to say "please" and "thank you," yet those words are oen le out of conversations and emails. Three critical words not used oen enough are "I am sorry." Why do we find it so difficult to say those words or to acknowledge our mistakes? Another form of respect is caring for people. If something important or interesting is going on in someone's life, acknowledge it. Ask about it. Do the same when life is challenging. Be purposeful with respect — it's something you need to think about. » Do What You Say You Are Going To Do: When you do what you say you will do, people will trust you. If you do not, you will be viewed as unreliable. » Do a Great Job: We need to deliver results every day. Sometimes we might not have the knowledge, skills or abilities to complete our projects and tasks effectively, and we need to ask for help. We also need to be lifelong learners, and it is our job to keep up with trends in legal, especially regarding technology. When was the last time you aended an ILTA conference? If your firm won't pay for it, consider paying for it yourself. Ask yourself: "What am I doing to stay relevant?" LAURA J. BROOMELL Laura J. Broomell, CLM is the Chief Operating Officer with Greene Espel PLLP, a 25-attorney firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a legal management professional and is the current President of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). Contact Laura at lbroomell@ greeneespel.com. » Let Others Do a Great Job, Too: Don't micromanage those you supervise or others you work with. Your co-workers will realize you don't trust them, and any trust they have in you will quickly diminish. » Be Willing To Change Your Mind: We begin to form our ideologies and value systems from an early age. We have subconscious biases that are difficult to recognize and even more difficult to overcome. Some people believe they cannot change — they say, "This is who I am, so live with it." Limited self-analysis prevents us from reaching our own potential. I encourage you to look at every situation as though it's the first time. Be mindful of what you see, hear, sense and feel. Don't base your reaction on what has happened in the past. » Recognize Cultural Differences: We can learn from people whose cultures we do not share, and we should appreciate differences and openly embrace them in our workplaces to create safe, trusting spaces. For example, when I was younger, I was taught to look people in the eye when talking to them. My mom thought someone not making eye contact was trying to hide something and being untrustworthy. However, in some cultures, eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude. It was important for me to learn this so I can treat everyone with the respect they deserve. Many of these points are just reminders, but they are important not only to create trusting workplaces, but also to foster empathy and compassion and to appreciate the skills and qualities of those around us. Let's all work on building trust; it benefits us, our teams and everyone in our lives. P2P "Trust each other again and again. When the trust level gets high enough, people transcend apparent limits, discovering new and awesome abilities for which they were previously unaware." — David Armistead www.alanet.org Making Trust Maer in the Workplace LESSONS LEARNED

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