Making Relationships Work
A Conversation with Psychologist John M. Gottman
The best science we have on relationships comes from the most intense relationship
of all – marriage. Here’s what we know about it.
Gary Benson
IT HAS BECOME COMMON to extol the value of human relationships in the workplace. We all agree that managers
need to connect deeply with followers to ensure outstanding performance, and we celebrate leaders who have the
emotional intelligence to engage and inspire their people
by creating bonds that are authentic and reliable. There’s a
large and fast-growing support industry to help us develop
our “softer” relationship skills; many CEOs hire executive
coaches, and libraries of self-help books detail how best to
build and manage relationships on the way to the top.
Despite all the importance attached to interpersonal dynamics in the workplace, however, surprisingly little hard
