WHAT IS A HEALTHY
WORKING RELATIONSHIP
Kari and Jen
 Active Listening
 Good Communication
 Boundaries
 Trust
 Openness
 Mutual Cooperation
 Support
 Responsibility
 Goals
 Healthy Working Environment
ACTIVE LISTENING
 Paraphrase
 Gesture
 S.O.L.E.R
• Square up and face person
• Open posture
• Lean forward
• Eye Contact
• Relax while attending
 Summarizing
 Clarifying
 Reflecting
“An essential part of true listening is the discipline of bracketing, the temporary
giving up or setting aside of one’s own prejudices, frames of reference and desires
so as to experience as far as possible the speaker’s world from the inside, step in
inside his or her shoes.”
-M. Scott Peck, MD, The Road Less Travelled
G O O D C O M M U N I C AT I O N ( 1 O F 2 )
 Real talk (laugh, show sense of humor, connect)
 Clear expectations
 Ownership
 Honesty
 Authentic
 Genuine
 Understanding
“Communication - the human connection--is the key to personal and career success.”
Paul J. Meyer
“Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.”
Rollo May
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to
understand people is to listen to them.”
Ralph Nichols
“Effective communications starts with listening.”
Robert Gately
G O O D C O M M U N I C AT I O N ( 2 O F 2 )
 Communicate your needs
 Acknowledge your partner’s needs
 Cultural awareness/Cultural communication differences
 Allow personal growth
 Dialogue with respect
BOUNDARIES
 Professional
Learn and practice the different boundaries.
 Personal
 No duo relationships
 Don’t cross the line
TRUST
 Your feelings
 Your partner with your feelings
 Your relationship
 Communicate trust
 Confidence and faith
 Ability to rely on each other
 Ability to relate warmly to others to built trust
OPENNESS
 Acceptance
 Don’t try to change
 Willingness to compromise
 Connection
 Expanding personal viewpoints
 Avoiding judgments
 The ability to go beyond self and become concerned about the welfare
of others.
MUTUAL COOPERATION
 Sharing goals
 Flexibility
 Openness
 Giving and returning respect
 Learn from each other
 Knowledge exchange/sharing
 Commitment in team learning
SUPPORT
 Sharing a vision
 Empowering by making the other feel effective
 Feeling what other is feeling
 Adjusting to accommodate
 Responding and guiding
“It
is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each oth
It takes community to maintain a human.
Earon Davis
Do not dismantle the house, but look at each brick, and replace those which
appear to be broken, which no longer support the structure.
Neale Donald Walsch
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another
person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have
lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)
RESPONSIBILITY
 Own your problem
 Share
 Equal
 Self and client
 Profession
 Personal
GOALS
 The development of problem solving skills.
 Reflective outcomes
 Prepared to explore and address challenges
 Shared commitment
 Individual commitment in team learning to foster knowledgeproductive results.
 Resources are shared to achieve common goals.
HEALTHY WORKING
ENVIRONMENT

Conflict resolution

Safety concerns

Stewardship

Self-care & Support of personal wellness of others

Listening to promote personal empowerment, creativity & passion

Recognition
REFERENCES
Active listening skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.taft.cc.ca.us/lrc/class/assignments/actlisten.html
Essential Life Skills.net. (n.d.). Communication Quotes. Retrieved from
http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/communicationquotes.html
GAIAM Life. (n.d.). Stream of Consciousness. Retrieved from http://blog.gaiam.com/quotes/topics/support
Hosley, Cheryl A., Gensheimer, Linda, & Yang, Mai. (2003). Building effective working relationships across culturally and
ethnically diverse communities. Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice, and Program, 82(2), 157-168.
HR Connect. (2005). Characteristics of a healthy working relationship, 1(30). Retrieved from
http://www.sfarchdiocese.org/media/files/hr-docs/HRConnect30.pdf
.
REFERENCES
Kraybill, Ken. (n.d.). Creating and maintaining a healthy work environment: A resource guide for staff retreats. Retrieved from
National Health Care for the Homeless Council Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network website:
http://www.nhchc.org/Clinicians/ResourceGuideforStaffRetreats.pdf
Shoefstall, Sherri. (2007). Communication: What big ears you have. Mentoring & Tutoring, 15(4), 397–402
The Signs of a Healthy Relationship in the New Millennium. (n.d.) What makes a relationship healthy? Retrieved from
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/cig/pdf/0028642066.pdf
Tillema, Harm H. (2006). Authenticity in knowledge-productive learning: What drives knowledge
construction in collaborative inquiry?, Human Resource Development International, 9(2), 173-190.