No matter which way you look at it; relationships are extremely valuable. What we choose to make of these relationships is up to us. Yes, of course, there are times things happen we can’t control, but often times we have the chance to make our relationships thrive.
In the travel industry relationships are extremely important. It seems like everyone knows someone who knows someone else. When people are together (as I learned at my first NBTA) they like to chat, have fun, and network. I am always trying to keep this thought at the forefront of my mind as I do my job on a daily basis.
I come from a family where loyalty is everything. My parents always taught me to put family first, and that if anyone I ever cared about needed anything to be the first one there. They taught me it’s important to appreciate those who appreciate us and at the end of the day, the important people will be there. My parents talked about relationships a lot. They spoke about their relationship with each other, our relationship with them, and their relationships with their employees. (They owned a restaurant)
Growing up talking about relationships with my parents and now taking some of my own experiences from the business world I think there are a list of important aspects that lead to developing successful relationship, from friends, to spouses, to clients. At the end of the day, I think these are some of the most important:
1.Communication: Once this slows or stops, everything else seems to fall apart and ceases to exist pretty quickly. Even the biggest mistakes or most confusing situations can sometimes be fixed by honest, open communication. Don’t forget to stay in touch with the people you care about. Don’t be afraid to shoot an e-mail or phone call off to an old client you haven’t talked to in a while. Is something really bothering you? Weighing on you? Say it. I promise, you’ll feel better!
2.Honesty: Lying gets you nowhere except into a relationship with bigger problems. Be open and straight forward. Don’t try to hide things. The more honest you are with someone, the more honest they will be with you. Besides, who wants any relationship they are in to be based off of lies?
3.Loyalty: If someone treats you well, remain loyal to them. If they need you, be there for them. If someone else wants to talk about the person behind their back, stay silent. Maybe even walk away or disagree.
4.Appreciation: Let those you care about and feel lucky to have in your life know it. Show them you appreciate them through words and actions. Don’t take people you care about for granted.
5.Transparency: Let’s face it, nobody likes to feel like they have to dig for clues about how you feel or what you’re doing. This is especially true in business….don’t give anyone a reason to doubt you.
6.Respect: Never act too good for anyone. You’re not. As they say: You gain respect by earning it, but also by GIVING it.
7.Intuition: This may seem like the odd ball out, but I think it’s really important. We all have it, somewhere within us. That feeling above all us that inspires us to make certain decisions. I think this feeling is so important in building successful relationships because every relationship we have is going to be different. No one is the same. You have to have an intuition which helps you decide how to appropriately deal with each individual relationship. You know what makes that person tick, you know their insecurities, personality, strengths….so take the time to think about them, follow your intuition and don’t treat any of your relationships the same, because most likely, they’re not.
I’m sure there are many other things people find important in developing and maintaining valuable relationships. I’d like to hear them. Shoot me an e-mail at jillian.walsh@etopaz.com.
My family at my sister's wedding
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