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Career Planning
As a speaker and business coach, I have
had the pleasure of working with hundreds
of “people” managers. Their titles include
Team Leader, Supervisor, Manager,
Project Lead, Director or VP, some with
years of experience and some preparing
to assume a position as people manager
for the first time. In every workshop,
there are questions around building good
relationships with each member of the
team.
In today’s multi-generational workplace,
there is not one single set of expectations.
Each individual will have different
perceptions for their own role, their
relationships with team members and
management, along with different goals/
ambitions and motivators.
Over time, I have developed a series of
questions that in my own experience have
helped me establish a positive working
relationship with my own teams. There
are some variations on when and how to
engage in these discussions, based on the
following factors:
• Are you (the people manager) new to
the company/department/team? If so,
there are no previous relationships or
experiences that may impact building
the team. This can be good or bad, it
depends on how you introduce yourself
to the team. Good in that there is no
“history” and you can start with a clean
slate. Potentially bad in that you are the
new “kid on the block” and all eyes will
be watching, some hopeful that you will
not be a success.
• Are you (the manager) being promoted
from within and moving up from
peer to manager? If so, how have
the team members responded to the
announcement? This can also be good
or bad, and again it depends on how you
handle any issues/concerns from “the
past”, and how you transition from peer
to leader.
• In either situation, are there any team
members with what might be described
as “baggage”? In other words, do they
have expectations of the manager that
may get in the way of building a positive
relationship with you?
• Are you both leader and team member?
In other words, do you still assume some
team member responsibilities while
also acting as the team’s supervisor or
manager? In this instance, you have to
be very specific about clarifying your role
in each conversation, i.e. “I’m speaking
as your manager now” or “I’m speaking
as a team member now”.
Whatever the circumstance, there are some
questions you can ask that will give you
information designed to help you build
a positive relationship with each team
member That list of questions could
include:
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TIPS FOR BUILDING
EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPSWritten By: Karen Rae Short

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1. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST
ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE
AND WHY?
Imagine what you can do with this
knowledge. When you are assigning new
tasks, setting up schedules, if you are able
to provide each person with the opportunity
to do more of what they enjoy, you are
increasing your credibility in their eyes.
2. WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST
ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE
AND WHY?
If you are able to decrease this type of work,
you again are a hero. If you can’t, you are
able to acknowledge that you know they
don’t really like the work, and are counting
on them to do a great job because they are
the best person to do it. If you are able to
discuss a plan where they cross-train others
to do this work, you are building their skill
set in new areas and showing them that
you are doing your best to respond to their
preferences.
3. IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE
THING ABOUT YOUR JOB, WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
This may seem to be a repeat of the
previous question, but it does sometimes
bring up other topics. For instance, their
working environment could be a concern,
or an issue with a colleague. It gives you an
opportunity to explore further, and to show
your interest in their success.
4. WHAT ARE YOUR SHORT AND
LONG-TERM GOALS, AND HOW
CAN I HELP?
A key question, especially for employees
with career ambition, and many do have
them regardless of their age or generational
‘attitude’. We sometimes overlook excellent
candidates for growth because they have
been in a certain role for some time and we
“assume” that they have no desire to grow.
Sometimes, it is that they have not been
asked and believe that the door is no longer
open to them. Such a waste of talent and
ability.
5. HOW DO YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE
FEEDBACK? POSITIVE AS WELL AS
NEGATIVE/CONSTRUCTIVE?
This is a very key question. If we don’t have
the answer, we can often make a situation
more difficult when our goal is to improve
communication. For instance, if you give
an employee praise in public and s/he is
not comfortable with public accolades,
that person could be thinking, “well, I’m
not going to exceed expectations again if s/
he going to embarrass me like this”! The
negative/constructive feedback should take
place in private without exception (okay,
maybe if a person is about to cut off his/her/
someone’s left arm, you’d jump in right then
and there in front of others!). Be specific
and address behaviours, not personality.
For instance “you’ve been late by up to 15
minutes 3 times in the last two weeks”; not
“you’re lazy and can’t get to work on time”.
6. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO
COME TO THIS JOB EVERY DAY
(OTHER THAN $$ & LOCATION)?
If you understand what truly makes a
person come to work and feel engaged
and valued every day, you’ll be able to
create more of a motivational environment.
Various studies have indicated that high
wages is not at the top of the list as an
employee motivator. In fact, it is generally
half way down the top ten list, preceded by
a feeling of being part of something that
matters, open communication, a boss who
supports me, opportunities for growth and
advancement, etc. If you can identify and
capitalize on each person’s true motivators,
you will develop a highly competent team
of individuals who are inspired to grow with
the organization…and make you look good
at the same time!

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7. WHAT TYPE OF SUPPORT/
COACHING DO YOU WANT FROM
ME?
Some will want a lot, some a little. Some
will prefer to work things out on their own,
others to take courses. You don’t have to be
the coach; it is your responsibility to ensure
that they receive the support they need to
be successful…and to make you look good
too.
8. ANYTHING ELSE THAT
WILL HELP US TO WORK WELL
TOGETHER?
Another important question that may result
in a surprising answer. It is well worth
asking, especially if you surface information
that can make or break a relationship.
If you know that there are some issues, it
may be better to schedule the one-on-one
meetings before holding the group meeting.
In the private meetings, you will address
the issues/concerns with the individual and
develop a plan to overcome them.
SOMEONE WANTED YOUR JOB
Let’s say for instance that one team
member is disgruntled because s/he didn’t
get the promotion and is showing through
her/his behaviour that s/he is not motivated,
perhaps going to your manager (the former
manager) instead of involving you, not
meeting performance requirements, etc.
Dealing with this quickly and early is
important, especially if s/he is a strong
influence on the team. The questions
would be pretty much the same, and if the
concerns do not surface in the responses,
bring them up. Some possible approaches
are:
“I understand that you applied for this
position and I’d like to talk with you about
that….did you receive any feedback about
why you were not selected? How do you feel
about it? Are you still interested in moving
up/taking on more responsibilities? My job
is to help you progress and grow in your role
and if you want my assistance, I’ll be happy
to work with you. You are a valued member
of the team and it is important for us to find
a way to work well together so that we both
succeed.”
If the person is responsive, make sure that
you follow through. If the person is negative/
unwilling to participate, it is important for
you to address the performance issues,
letting him/her know that the behaviours
are not acceptable. Schedule a follow up
meeting to discuss how s/he will ensure that
his/her performance improves.
Assuming that there are no “skeletons
in the closet”, you’ll probably find that
each team member is inspired by your
introduction and asking these questions.
Frequently, managers learn from the first
two questions that they can juggle some
tasks and be a hero in team members’ eyes
when they get to do more of what they like
and less of what they don’t like. The fact
that you ask about their goals and how you
can help them get there shows them that
you are not concerned about them trying to
make you look ineffective, or that you plan
to keep all the best work for yourself.
WORKING WITH FORMER PEERS
If you are managing former peers, it is
important to clarify how your role and
relationships will be different. It doesn’t
mean that you cannot continue with
relationships, it does mean that you cannot
be perceived as showing favouritism to one
person because you are personal friends.
It means that you have to clarify that you
cannot give one person the best projects,
allow them to take extra benefits i.e. arrive
late/leave early, or expect you to share
information with them that you cannot
share with the rest of the team.
It also means that you may have to
remove yourself from some conversations.