Build a Relationship Between People & Their Craft Part 2

Why the Relationship between People and Their Craft Is So Important

When people build a relationship with their craft, they become more curious. They want to know how it works, why it works, and the steps to create the outcome. Think about musicians. Thousands of people learn to play the guitar, piano, and violin every year. What is the difference between those who excel at the instrument and those who don’t? Those who excel develop a relationship with the instrument and the music they play. This relationship makes them more curious. They want to know how it works, why it works, and how to use it to create great music.

Because they are curious, they are not afraid to learn and try new things. Even though they struggle and fail numerous times, they keep learning and adapting. When they do fail, they treat it as a learning moment. They reflect on what happened and identify the mistakes. Then, they make adjustments and play it again. They repeat this cycle over and over until they master this one part of the instrument. We call this the growth cycle.

Do, Reflect, Adjust, Do Again

Then, they add the second part of the instrument. The second part is usually easier because they mastered the first part. This process continues until they have mastered the instrument and can play beautiful music.

For those who do not build a relationship with their instrument, everything is a task. Practice is a task. Reading music is a task. Performing is a task. In this way of thinking, these are things they must do every day before they can do what they really want to do. As a result, they learn slower, are more resistant to change, and stop growing far below their capability. Why? They never built a relationship with their instrument and the music. They were never curious enough to understand how the instrument works, why it works, and how to play it better. 

A strong, healthy relationship between people and their craft does four things that are essential for growth:

1. It removes defenses and barriers.
2. It helps people become more objective about themselves and situations.
3. It helps people become more vulnerable, which is essential for growth.
4. It opens the door for people to step out of their comfort zone and try new things.

During the era of Centralized Leadership, the focus was on people doing tasks. Building a relationship with their craft was not as important as doing the tasks. In the era of Shared Leadership, the relationship between people and their craft became important. Improving quality and productivity required greater curiosity about how things worked, why they worked, and how to do them better. In the era of Given Leadership, a strong, dynamic relationship between people and their craft is essential. If you are putting the power in the hands of your team to drive growth, they need a dynamic and growing relationship with their craft that creates confidence, clarity, and connection. Everyone on the team must be curious about what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and who they do it with. It is the difference between excellence and average.

The 5 Dimensions of Building A Relationship Between People and Their Craft

Strong, healthy relationships between people and their craft do three things that support a Growth Culture:

• They remove defenses and barriers, making growth easier.
• They help people be more objective about themselves and situations.
• They open the door for people to step out of their comfort zone and try new things.

Here are the five dimensions of building a relationship between people and their craft. 

1. The relationship between you and the person.
2. The relationship between the person and your organization.
3. The relationship between the person and their role.
4. The relationship between the person and the team.
5. The relationship between the person and the client.