Working towards success isn’t a one-man job. You work with your colleagues, clients, and fellow entrepreneurs. Without these carefully cultivated relationships, you may find it difficult to bring your business to success. But when you build meaningful connections at work, you can be better together.
Joining us in this episode is Morag Barrett, an expert on leadership and the power of relationships. She talks about meaningful connections as the secret to success. Listen and learn from Morag’s advice on cultivating relationships on a foundation of trust. Find out how you could make friends at work and become better together.
If you want to learn how to develop winning relationships, tune into this episode!
3 Reasons to Listen:
- Find out how business can be personal and why your relationships matter.
- Learn how to create and rekindle relationships built on trust.
- Become the colleague people want to work with.
Resources
About Morag
Morag Barrett is a leadership expert, keynote speaker, and executive coach who has worked with leaders and organizations worldwide. She is the founder of Skye Team, a global leadership development team that aims to help companies work towards success. Morag helps her clients cultivate winning relationships to become successful in business and in life.
Morag is the author of Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships. Her upcoming book, You, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How to Show Up As One!) talks about friends in work and in life.
You can connect with Morag on LinkedIn or find out more about her on Skye Team.
Episode Highlights
[02:05] Morag’s Business Roles
- Morag is passionate about the quality of relationships.
- She helps build high-performing teams and leaders through meaningful connections and powerful relationships.
- Morag is the herder of cats, the truth speaker and truth seeker, and the poker of bears.
[02:27] “But the true secret to success is the quality of the relationships that we have. And even as a solopreneur, you are dependent on others for your success.” - Click Here To Tweet This
[06:40] Be Intentional, Proactive and Present
- These days, people tend to be more passive in their roles.
- Morag’s book, Cultivate, is about being present and aligning with what makes your leadership different.
- Be present and thoughtful about your leadership.
- Be intentional and choose how you show up.
[08:07] “The mistake I know I've made in the past and the leaders that I'm working with right now is that they are not fully present. They rush from one hamster wheel to the next.” - Click Here To Tweet This
[09:54] A Lesson on Leadership and Trust
- Morag is a Gaelic name that means great.
- Skye Team comes from her maiden name, MacLeod, a clan based on the Isle of Skye.
- She learned lessons vital to leadership, such as getting close to strangers and letting go of control, through ballroom dancing.
- Leading in ballroom dancing entails trust and a partnership of equals.
[17:06] Trust: The Foundation of Relationships
- Trust is the foundation of every personal and professional relationship.
- The four questions to ask in your relationships are: Can I count on you? Can I depend on you? Do I care about you? Do I trust you?
- Be conscious and intentional with these four questions.
- Without trust, people will hold back and avoid taking risks for you.
- Distributed work environments make it harder to build meaningful relationships.
[23:06] The Importance of Relationships
- You don’t have to be social to build meaningful connections.
- Meaningful relationships are there for you in good and bad times.
- Take the initiative to accelerate success, impact, and reputation in your career.
- Focus on interdependence.
[23:51] “It's easy to be a good colleague when things are going well.” - Click Here To Tweet This
[27:47] Rekindling and Creating Relationships
- Spend five minutes sharing a recent impactful or joyful experience.
- Take part in and add value to your community.
- Be proactive in making friends and be a good ally in someone’s life.
- Connections allow both parties to be successful and better together.
[31:50] “If you’re cynical, start small. All we need is one best friend at work, and it can make all of the difference.” - Click Here To Tweet This
[33:53] How Morag Redefines Success
- Success for Morag is about doing great work with great people.
- For Skye Team, success is remaining small and nimble and choosing to work with fun clients. They work according to their corporate values.
- The definition of success is personal.
- What makes the heroes in your life special?
[41:35] The Ally Mindset
- We were raised in a culture that prioritizes ourselves.
- The Ally is the best friend who supports you no matter what and gives tough feedback. Meanwhile, the Supporters are friends who wouldn’t take risks for you.
- Rivals only support you when it benefits them. Adversaries are tougher relationships that stem from misunderstandings at work.
- Endeavor to be the colleague who people enjoy working with.
[47:08] The Ally Mindset Pinwheel
- 80% of Morag’s clients are intelligent professionals who see the importance of soft skills.
- Abundance and generosity are about considering the success of others and your own.
- Focus on building relationships with trust and compassion.
- No one is truly independent in their work. Listen to the full episode to learn about the last two facets of the pinwheel and how they can help you become an Ally at work!
[52:17] Differences in Relationships
- Keep your abundance and generosity in equilibrium.
- Define what success means to you and be explicit about what you want and need at work.
- Being friends means being able to work together despite differences.
- When you understand different perspectives, you’ll see the many facets of life that come together for a common goal.
- Forgive yourself and others.
[58:25] Morag’s Final Takeaways
- Finding success in life calls for cultivating winning relationships.
- Business is personal. Your relationships matter.
- Create the life you love, seek the people who help you thrive, and take the lead in nurturing your relationships.
[59:12] “You cannot be successful in business or life unless you are successful in cultivating winning relationships. This is not a soft, fluffy ‘might do.’ This is fundamental.” - Click Here To Tweet This
Enjoy the Podcast?
Seek Go Create is for anyone seeking excellence, moving towards success, or creating something new. We share topics, stories, and conversations that allow us to rethink how we live, work, and lead.
If you were inspired and educated by this episode, feel free to subscribe to us on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify so that you never miss another episode. Also, share this episode or what you’ve learned today on your favorite social media platform.
Love to give us 5 stars? If you do, we’d love a review from you. By doing this, you can help us reach more people who want to redefine success in their lives.
Connect with the SeekGoCreate Network! For updates and more episodes, visit our website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
To growing and becoming all we are created to be,
Tim
