Making Relationships Work at Work

All you need to know about relationships and how make them work inside a company and, in my opinion, the book is useful in any business environment too. The structure is done well to cover the "how to" part from start to continuous improvement.

This is a great guide to navigating through relationships of all kinds at the workplace. I love that this book encompassed all levels of experience and hierarchies, as everyone from a high-level manager to an entry-level assistant could benefit from the information. The emphasis here is on collaboration, clear communication, and setting firm boundaries, as most relational breakdowns come from a lack of respect, trust, or clear expectations.

Fox gives great advice on how to manage relational breakdowns, as well as how to diffuse situations both internally and externally. Much of the research and advice here focuses on mindfulness and using CBT principals to understand how you often assume other people behave and think in the same way you do, which causes assumptions to be made that put relational distance between you and your manager/co-worker/boss that deteriorates the quality of the relationship and work environment.

Not your typical self-help book, anyone can benefit from reading this guide to making relationships work at work.

I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What an amazing book! I can say that I'm honestly impressed by the quality of the content. It took me a while to finish because it was heavy on information that I needed to revisit and think about. The author himself recommends pausing for reflection, as it is a very pragmatic book that requires you to apply certain notions to your own situation. Knowledge of the technique in this case is nothing without implementation.
I can confirm that this book was designed to make your working week more enjoyable, productive and fulfilling through building great relationships. It teaches you this by exploring many angles of relationships in the professional setting. I could say that it's a great material for HRs and Learning & Development Professionals who are responsible to guide others professionally.
From the book description, I was aiming at improving my interpersonal skills, which to me professionally have always been challenging to navigate, even with my work experience in the hospitality industry where you have to often deal with multiple types of people whether you intend to or not. Structured from building the foundations to succeeding in special circumstances, I can confirm that the author walked me by the hand through the whys and whens, dos and don'ts in a succint and efficient manner that I've not encountered in other resources.
Some of the topics you'll encounter are personality tests, trust, self-limiting beliefs, delegation, listening, feedback vs. criticism, communication types and many more. At the end of each chapter there are nice exercises and suggested tools coupled with references, which I liked instead of having all the references just piled up at the end of the book.
All in all, a great read that will definitely boost your relationship skills at work!

Helpful and practical guidance about relationship builders like emotional intelligence, active listening, and influencing. No new theories or unusual techniques, but thoughtfully collected and well-presented information, with listed sources for deeper research as needed.. Links to toolkits and resources. Timely and specific guidance on virtual relationships and strengthening remote relationships. Useful refresher for anyone at any career stage; recommended for anyone entering the workplace.

I thought this was a really useful book. The style worked so well for me - short chapters, in built reflection and questioning, recommendations for further reading at the end. I'm not sure it told me anything new but it did cover a lot of ground quickly.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters on mindset and giving feedback - and the importance of active listening. The inclusion of practical exercises was super useful. It's the kind of book where I'll absolutely go back and read particular chapters. I liked that it made you think about who you communicate with effectively - for me it's definitely my internal colleagues rather than external.

The chapter on virtual teams was particularly relevant right now as many of us have to work from home. Good to know I've been doing some useful things for my team!

Overall a neat and tidy guide to work relationships.