{"id":50344,"date":"2025-01-03T21:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T02:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=50344"},"modified":"2025-05-08T06:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T10:55:13","slug":"boost-your-interpersonal-savvy","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/boost-your-interpersonal-savvy\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost Your Interpersonal Savvy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

How strong are your people skills? Do they come easily to you, or do you get dinged on interpersonal skills in performance reviews?<\/p>\n

The good news is that everyone has the capacity to increase their interpersonal skills and savvy.<\/p>\n

What’s interpersonal savvy? It’s building and maintaining solid working relationships with colleagues, superiors, and direct reports. It\u2019s a key leadership competency, and problems with interpersonal relationships is one of the most common reasons leaders derail in their careers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The key to interpersonal savvy is to learn behaviors that demonstrate valued people skills.<\/strong> This includes skills such as good listening, showing sincerity and\u00a0empathy in the workplace<\/a>, and being trustworthy. Honesty, supportiveness, a team orientation, and a willingness to share responsibility are also part of the interpersonal skills mix.<\/p>\n

4 Key Guidelines for Improving Interpersonal Savvy<\/h2>\n

Practical Tips to Build Your Interpersonal Skills<\/h3>\n

As outlined in our guidebook, Interpersonal Savvy: Building and Maintaining Solid Working Relationships<\/em><\/a>, here is a practical approach for improving how others view you and experience your interpersonal skills. Rather than digging deep into your emotions or personality, it focuses on the behaviors<\/em> that make a difference. To improve your interpersonal skills and boost your interpersonal savvy, try these steps.<\/p>\n

1. Set a goal to improve your interpersonal relationships.<\/h4>\n

Figure out what interpersonal skills \u2014 specifically \u2014 you\u2019d like to improve or address. Maybe you\u2019ve received feedback that you interrupt or override others in meetings, sending the message that you don\u2019t listen. Or you\u2019d like your direct reports to know they can trust you or that you are willing to share responsibility. If you\u2019re not sure where to start, ask a trusted colleague to help you see the positive ways and the negative ways others perceive you, and ask yourself:<\/p>\n