I had the opportunity of reading the article published in HBR on the subject of having small talks with employees and its (un)importance in building relationships.
How important is it to have conversations with employees? with our teams? Of course it is very important. Because conversations build relationships. They give and get us feedback. Help us to understand. Bring clarity. Lots of positives on having conversations with employees to build relationships.
But how about small talk. They do virtually nothing. Almost. The chit chats are not productive at all. Obviously don’t help in building relationships. While meaningful, focussed conversations help, small talks don’t. There is no point in small talks just to have one. One that does not add any value. So don’t indulge in one.
