7 Strategies for Building Trust in Working Relationships: Survey and Reflect on Your Relationship-Building Skills

Inflexion February 3, 2023

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Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

– Stephen Covey

INTRO

Roosevelt Middle School principal at Vista Unified School District, Amy Zilk, knows that a new leadership role is both rewarding and challenging. One of the most important and immediate goals for any leader is building healthy, high-quality working relationships with your staff. Amy shared some insights about how she has (and continues to) cultivate relationships built on trust with her Roosevelt Middle School team.

Use this resource to evaluate, survey, and reflect on your own relationship-building skills as a leader, and then commit to an action plan for self-improvement and growth.

OBJECTIVES

Self-assess your relationship-building skills

Survey your staff for their perception/feedback of your relationship-building skills

Reflect and create an action plan to improve your relationship-building skills

RESOURCES

INFLEXION BLOG: 7 Strategies for Building Trust in Working Relationships

PDF INFOGRAPHIC: 7 Strategies for Building Trust in Working Relationships

GOOGLE FORM TEMPLATE: Working Relationships Survey

ACTIVITY

Review the strategies outlined in this infographic

Evaluate yourself for each of the seven criteria

Survey your staff using the provided Google Form Survey Template
- You will be directed to create your own (private/personal) copy of the Form that you can edit to meet your needs

Review the survey responses and reflect on how they align with your original self-evaluation
- Remember, relationships are personal, unique, and subjective. This process will help you practice the “being open to feedback” criteria.

TIPS

Relationship-building takes work. The feedback may sometimes be difficult to receive. We recommend reviewing it with someone you trust (like your Portico Coach) to help you process the results and create an action plan.

Practice your relationship-building skills through this activity. Be sure to practice transparency by following up with the results, your gratitude and insights, and your next steps with your staff.

Categories: Evaluation, Leadership Activities, Self Evaluation

Tags: 21st Century Leadership, Effective Communication Processes, Effective Leadership, Evaluation Processes, Inclusive Leadership, Inclusive Practices, School Leaders

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INTRO

OBJECTIVES

RESOURCES

ACTIVITY

TIPS

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