Practical Steps for Keeping Human Connections at the Center of Your Daily Work.

For those of us who are dedicated to social goals—alleviating hunger, eradicating illness, saving the environment, improving education—our reliance on popular support and creative teamwork is particularly strong. But that doesn’t mean we all do a great job of nurturing our human connections. All too often, we fall into the trap of behaving as if other things—money, technical skills, organizational efficiency—are more important. We need to make a special effort to keep people at the center of our work . . . where they belong.

One obvious yet often neglected principle for nurturing healthy growing relationships with your team members is simply to stay in touch.

We’re all very busy, and in the press of daily activities it’s easy to neglect the necessity for personal outreach. But we must find time to treat one another as human beings. This may be something that comes naturally to you. If not, it’s an instinct you need to cultivate.

Here’s one way to start the process of improving your links to people who make your work possible. Sit down with a sheet of paper and list the ten most important people or groups whose support is crucial to your organization. (Depending on the size of the organization and your specific role, the number may be larger or smaller, but ten is a reasonable target for many leaders.) The ten people on this list should be your number-one backers—people who contribute to your work with money, ideas, connections, time, and other crucial resources.

Now ask what it would look like if these ten people were giving you everything they could. What if your relationship with them was such that you could pick up the phone to call them at (almost) any hour of the day or night—to seek advice, to share wonderful news, to brainstorm an idea, to enlist help, or just to reaffirm your personal bond? What if they felt equally ready to communicate with you—to pass along a valuable contact, to offer a helpful suggestion, to warn you about an unforeseen danger, to propose a great initiative, or just to provide encouragement and support?

Having fantasized for a few moments about enjoying that level of closeness, transparency, and commitment from your chief partners, next ask: What more could I be doing to achieve it? There may be many answers, from reaching out via phone, text message, email, or handwritten letter to planning a breakfast, hosting a dinner party, organizing a conference, or traveling to a work site together.

Whatever your heart tells you, start doing it. Today. After all, is there anything else you could be doing that is more important?

Found out more about the book The Generosity Network