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You may have heard about “The 5 Love Languages,” which comes from a best-selling book by Gary Chapman. While I discovered it in my personal life (as one does), as someone who loves thinking and applying concepts in systems, I quickly saw its wider application into my work life, too.
In a totally appropriate way, of course.
We often talk about passion and curiosity as key pillars in the work we do in innovation. I believe that the more we love our work and care about our people and what drives them, the more we can connect in meaningful and authentic ways.
So if knowing my friends or families’ love language can help me connect and communicate more effectively with these significant people in my life, then it’s a good idea to take some of those same principles and apply them to our working relationships.
Love languages 101
The five love languages are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.
Let’s think about those.
Words of Affirmation and Receiving Gifts go well together. What that translates to in the workplace is understanding how to constructively give and receive feedback. Every person that you collaborate with has that one thing that Really Matters to them. And it…
