For the love of your business
For the love of your business
Running a business means dealing with people, and dealing with people means navigating the messy, complicated world of human relationships. You’ve probably experienced it firsthand—two valued employees who can’t seem to work together, a team member whose attitude is affecting everyone’s morale, or communication breakdowns that spiral into formal complaints and potential legal issues.
What if there was a way to address these challenges before they became expensive HR nightmares? What if you could create a workplace culture so rooted in genuine communication that most conflicts resolved themselves naturally? This isn’t wishful thinking—it’s the power of Authentic Relating, a communication approach that’s transforming how forward-thinking business owners manage their teams and protect their companies from costly workplace disputes.
In this article, you’ll discover what Authentic Relating actually means in a business context, learn specific techniques for implementing it with your team, and understand how this approach can serve as your first line of defense against the HR problems that drain time, money, and energy from growing businesses.
Authentic Relating isn’t about sharing your deepest feelings with employees or turning your office into a therapy session. Instead, it’s a structured approach to communication that emphasizes honesty, curiosity, and emotional awareness in personal and professional interactions. Think of it as upgrading your communication software to prevent the bugs that cause system crashes—except in this case, the crashes are HR disasters.
At its core, Authentic Relating in business means creating an environment where people can express concerns, needs, and feedback directly and respectfully before they fester into bigger problems. It involves teaching your team members—and yourself—how to navigate difficult conversations with skill rather than avoidance.
Consider a hypothetical situation where Sarah, your marketing coordinator, starts arriving late and seems disengaged during meetings. With Authentic Relating principles, you would approach her with genuine curiosity: “I’ve noticed you seem less engaged lately, and I’m wondering what’s going on for you.” This opens the door for Sarah to share that she’s been struggling with childcare issues or feeling overwhelmed—problems that can be solved collaboratively rather than becoming grounds for termination.
The key difference is that Authentic Relating prioritizes understanding over judgment and seeks solutions over blame. This shift prevents small issues from becoming major conflicts that end up in HR files, legal consultations, or wrongful termination lawsuits.
Now that you understand what Authentic Relating looks like in practice, let’s explore how implementing these principles creates a ripple effect that strengthens your entire organization.
One of the most powerful aspects of Authentic Relating is how it develops emotional intelligence across your entire team. Emotional intelligence—the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions in yourself and others—is directly linked to workplace performance, team cohesion, and conflict prevention.
When you implement Authentic Relating practices, you’re essentially training your team to become more emotionally intelligent. Employees learn to recognize when they’re frustrated or overwhelmed before it affects their work quality. They develop the skills to address interpersonal tensions directly rather than letting them build into department-wide drama. They become more adept at giving and receiving feedback, which improves performance and reduces the likelihood of problems escalating to formal complaints.
Training your team in these skills starts with modeling the behavior yourself and creating systems that encourage authentic communication. This might mean regular one-on-one check-ins, team retrospectives, or ground rules for meetings that prioritize curiosity over defensiveness.
Companies with emotionally intelligent teams report lower turnover rates, higher satisfaction scores, and fewer HR incidents. When people feel heard and understood, they’re less likely to file complaints or quit without notice.
Understanding the value of emotional intelligence is one thing, but knowing how to actually develop these skills in your workplace is where the real transformation happens.
Implementing Authentic Relating doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your management style. Instead, it involves adopting specific communication techniques that you can start using immediately.
One fundamental technique is “impact statements”—addressing problems by focusing on observable behavior rather than assumptions. Instead of “You never follow through,” try “When the report was three days late, it delayed our client presentation.” This reduces defensiveness and opens space for problem-solving.
Asking permission before giving feedback also increases receptivity. “I have some thoughts about that meeting. Would you be open to hearing them?” demonstrates respect and builds trust.
Active listening means putting away distractions, asking clarifying questions, and reflecting back what you’ve heard. When employees feel truly heard, they bring problems to you early rather than letting them escalate.
Setting clear boundaries prevents conflicts by communicating your needs and expectations clearly while respecting others’ boundaries.
While individual techniques are powerful, they become truly transformative when they’re embedded into the fabric of how your business operates.
For Authentic Relating to be effective in your business, it needs to be supported by systems and structures rather than depending solely on individual personalities. This systematic approach ensures consistency and sustainability as your business grows.
Start by examining your current communication channels and identifying where authentic dialogue is happening and where it’s lacking. Creating multiple avenues for communication accommodates different personality types and preferences.
Performance reviews can incorporate authentic relating through mutual feedback, collaborative goal-setting, and honest discussions about challenges. When reviews become genuine conversations rather than one-way evaluations, they’re more likely to result in improvement.
Training supervisors in these techniques is essential for organization-wide implementation. When your management team practices authentic relating, it cascades throughout your organization naturally.
These systematic approaches to authentic communication don’t just create a better work environment—they deliver concrete financial returns that impact your bottom line.
Beyond preventing HR problems, Authentic Relating delivers measurable financial benefits that justify the time and effort invested in developing these practices.
Reduced turnover is perhaps the most significant financial benefit. According to Gallup research, the cost of replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. When employees feel heard, valued, and able to address concerns directly, they’re more likely to stay with your company long-term.
Productivity improvements are another significant benefit. When team members can communicate openly about obstacles, resource needs, and workload challenges, problems get solved faster and more effectively. Teams that practice authentic relating also collaborate more effectively, as trust and communication skills transfer to project work.
Customer relationships can also improve when your team is skilled in authentic communication. Employees who are comfortable with direct, respectful communication often transfer these skills to client interactions, leading to stronger relationships and better problem resolution.
As trusted LIFTed Business Advisors, we understand how challenges can escalate into expensive legal and HR problems that drain resources from your core business activities. That’s why we offer a comprehensive LIFT Business Breakthrough™ Session, where we’ll analyze your current foundational systems—Legal, Insurance, Financial, and Tax—to ensure your business has the solid infrastructure needed to handle conflicts with confidence and ease. Then together, we’ll identify gaps in your current systems and develop strategies that give you the freedom to focus on growing your business with peace of mind, knowing you have an advisor who has your back.
