The Value of Friendship at Work | Morag Barrett | 478

Statistics have shown that productivity and results go up when you work with friends. 

If you feel you don't have a friend at work, ask yourself the question, "Am I being a friend to others?"

Today, I've invited Morag Barrett to discuss why we need friends at work and how her book, You, Me, We: Why We All Need a Friend at Work (and How to Show Up As One!) is helping people not only make friends but learn to be one as well.  In addition, Morag is the Founder and CEO of SkyeTeam, an award-winning global leadership development firm.

Writing a book by yourself is a hard task - but, does having co-authors make it any easier?  Morag's newest book is co-authored by Eric Spencer and Ruby Vesely. Morag shares how working with them for eight years shaping the philosophy and thinking turned the book from a piece of work into a true craft - and they made writing together an easy choice and an enjoyable task.

You, Me, We discusses the three points you need to be aware of in order to have friends at work.  Look up, show up, step up – which all come down to intentionality. Morag shares how we all rely on others for our professional success.  It doesn't matter if you are part of a small team, large group, or even working remotely. You have to be aware of those you rely on, how your feel in their presence and how they feel in yours and intentionally work to create a positive relationship one conversation at a time.

You, Me, We is Morag's newest book but not her first. Having written books 8 and 5 years ago, she shares what has changed and what has stayed the same. We learn how the difficulties of writing, launching, and selling, remain just as hard, but technology such as podcasts and live streams have made marketing the book easier. These new technologies allow you to have conversations from the comfort of your home - while reaching large, new audiences.

Today's conversation is packed full of advice for professionals seeking to have more positive work-place relationship, for authors about to launch a book, and for anyone that has a book seeking new ways to scale their content.

Three Key Takeaways:

* Instead of asking "Do I have a friend at work?" flip the script and ask yourself "Am I a friend to others at work?" Be intentional and take the first step towards building relationships.

* A business book is a great way to augment the work you are already doing as a speaker, consultant or coach.

* Keynote speaking can no longer rely only on entertainment. You need to be engaging and interactive for both the live and virtual audiences.