Are We Friends or Coworkers?
“He who masters the power formed by a group of people working together has within his grasp one of the greatest powers known to man.” - Idowu Koyenikan
Looking back can be humbling, sometimes painfully so. I find it comforting to remind myself that we are all learning and growing, I am not alone. No one person has all the answers or wisdom. And, certainly, no human always gets it right.
One of the most humbling work experiences of my career was managing and eventually laying off—due entirely to market conditions—my best friend. The truth is I wasn’t a great manager then either; that Barb remains my best friend speaks to her gracious understanding and generous spirit. Generosity and grace that I am not sure I deserve but was crucial to my learning and for which I am deeply grateful.
That experience was the spark for “Beyond Boundaries: Building Relationships for Results,” the chapter I contributed to “Are we Friends or Coworkers? Exploring Relationships at Work,” now available on Amazon (and already a #1 Bestseller in 3 categories: Organizational Change, Workplace Behavior, Business Team!) and coming soon to Bookshop.org.
It’s possible I missed the class on building positive and productive relationships at work but given the relationship challenges I have experienced and observed over decades and across industries, either many of us missed it or it doesn’t exist. While most of us received some degree of instruction around making friends as children and the plethora of voices and information related to romantic relationships can be overwhelming, many or most of us never learned how to build successful work relationships. This book specifically, and Changing Work more broadly, address that topic through the lessons of myself and 23 others.
The book also represents my return to writing. I have long expected to pick up that passion in (semi-)retirement; doing so ahead of that feels like living my best life as my complete self.
I am incredibly grateful to my fellow authors—especially the women of Writing Pod 6—and Changing Work, as well as the InnerMBA program for connecting us. An even bigger shout out to those I’ve mentioned and referred to in the chapter. Thank you for teaching me and for your patience while I continue to learn. A huge and special thanks to my soul friend Barb; without her this chapter and moment would not exist. More importantly my life would be less bright. Thank you for your friendship and love through these many (many) years.
Just like here on Substack, it is humbling, exciting and a little scary to share my words and story. I hope you’ll check it out and find something useful for your work relationships. And, of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for being here.
All proceeds from Are we Friends or Coworkers? benefit Changing Work, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to change work from the inside out.
