A quality interpersonal relationship is a relationship which is built on understanding of self and others. A quality interpersonal relationship goes beyond just being casually acquainted with others to sharing with and gaining an understanding of one another. What I mean by sharing with is that you get a feeling for each other. I can empathize with you and see things through your eyes. When a quality interpersonal relationship is present there's certain amount of synergy that takes place between the persons involved in the relationship. A good example of a quality interpersonal relationship could be found within the strong family unit.

If we were to study a family that is close knit what would we see? We would most likely see the following characteristics: individual respect, trust, open lines of communication, open-mindedness, patience, empathy, love and many other attributes which add up to a strong interpersonal relationship. Within a strong family you find people that truly feel for each other. For example if Mom is sick, the morale of the other family members goes down. If Dad gets a promotion the whole family shares the feelings of esteem with Dad. The point I'm trying to make is that in quality interpersonal relationship you will start to feel some of things that I feel, which allows you to better understand me and communicate with me. Although a quality interpersonal relationship sounds like the best thing, it's not a relationship that's easily achieved.

To achieve a quality interpersonal relationship takes time, effort, desire, understanding, trust, disclosure, and feedback, effective communication, and etc. When we first meet a person we don't immediately establish an interpersonal relationship. As implied in the opening paragraphs, a quality interpersonal relationship goes far beyond conducting casual conversation. It takes time to build an interpersonal relationship. Why? People like to interact; however, they are protective of their feelings and don't immediately open up to let you inside to see who's living there. What I'm saying is to establish an interpersonal relationship with others you need to know things about them and get some perception of how they interpret things. To get this type of understanding about another person takes time. A good example would be the development of a friendship.

Think of your best friend. This is probably one of the most productive impersonal relationships that exist for you. Now go back from the time you met up until now. How did you get to become such best friends? As you think through the process you find those things that lead you to become best friends are the same things that are required to build an interpersonal relationship. I think the depth or even mere existence of an interpersonal relationship hinges on disclosure and feedback.

Let's talk about the importance of disclosure and feedback in a quality interpersonal relationship. My ideas of disclosure and feedback come from the self-disclosure model developed by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham. The model has become known as Johari's window. The premise of the model is that the more we disclose about ourselves and get feedback the more we learn about ourselves and the more others learn about us. I believe there is a direct tie between this theory and how a quality interpersonal relationship is achieved. When I met the person who is now my best friend, I started the relationship with a casual hello, like most people do. As time passed, I found reasons to disclose things about me. Well, guess what happened; as I started to disclose things about me he also shared things about him. As more time passed, we started to give feedback to each other about the characteristics and behaviors of each other. The longer relationship lasted and the more we disclosed the more we begin to trust each other. The more trust the more disclosure and feedback. This continued until we've developed an inseparable friendship and a top quality interpersonal relationship.

So you can see it doesn't happen over night and it takes time and risk to build an interpersonal relationship. The risk comes in when we open ourselves up and share some personal things that could be used to damage us emotionally. Although a quality interpersonal relationship is difficult to develop, it is more than worth to develop it in every walk of life, personal and professional life.

My organization is responsible for developing curriculum for supervisory and management courses. Our job requires the most effective communication skills that we could possibly use. Our customers depend on our communication skills. To give our customer a quality product requires a lot of interaction. The very nature of our business is very stressful because the job requires us to be somewhat creative. We have many think sessions just to figure out which direction to take. At time the emotions run rampant during these think sessions. Opinions are criticized and feelings are crushed. This is where a quality interpersonal relationship is important.

I believe we have quality interpersonal relationships present in our organization. So instead of addressing what would happen if they were to occur, I'll address what happens due to the presence of the quality interpersonal relationships. Our organization is an excellent place to work. The good Lord blessed me when He assigned me to the organization. The work is challenging but because of the interpersonal relationships you look forward to the challenge. I'm not saying I don't get frustrated or complain but when I do feel this way there's someone there that will listen. The management shows a genuine concern for the workers. The lines of communication are open from top to bottom. There is no back stabbing and very few negative comments about the work ethics of other.

Let me give you an example. There are times that my boss and I have major disagreements to the point of raising our voice and getting frustrated to such a time we have to call time out. You would think that this would cause hard feeling between the two of us on standing bases, not so. The healing process is quick and we have one of the best boss to subordinate relationships I've seen. It's not just like that with me but with all of us that have been assigned for over six months or so. I say six months or so because it takes that long to get used to each other. Another major plus is all of us are able to discuss what's on our minds without fear of retribution. There's a lot of trust among us. All of these things are a result of the strong interpersonal relationships that exist in the organization.

(By Candy from www.myfreeessays.com/social_issues)