Handling Political and Social Tensions in the Workplace
Who Should Read This? If you’re part of the C-suite, working in HR, leadership development, diversity, equity and inclusion, learning and development, or organizational and cultural development, this blog post is for you. You’ll find this content particularly useful if you’re looking for: Practical, proactive approaches to mitigate workplace tensions. Real-world examples of what can be...
This Independence Day – Character Matters
Recently I had the honor to meet a former US Army Colonel and current non-profit CEO at a prestigious leadership awards event in San Diego (he won!). Our conversation turned to the coming election, and I wondered aloud if this would be our last time celebrating Independence Day as a functioning democracy. The Colonel paused thoughtfully for a moment and then responded in a way that offered...
INTENT versus IMPACT
Introduction This fundamental concept is one of the core principles of my work and integral to DTG’s approach to dealing with Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) issues in the workplace and marketplace. D&I issues or employee relation issues (among people who are different) typically involve two people or more. The perpetrator or the initiator of the behavior is one party and the target or...
What NFL Coach Andy Reid Gets Right and Wrong About Respect
Last week, I offered my thoughts on the opinions of Harrison Butker, a professional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs, who kicked off a major controversy recently with his address at Benedictine College’s graduation ceremony. Many reasonable, decent, and thoughtful people with all sorts of political and religious leanings considered his address to be ignorant, disrespectful,...Think Before You Kick
Unless you deliberately don’t watch TV, don’t look at the news online, and eschew all social media of any kind, then you’ll find it’s hard to avoid the controversy that the professional football player Harrison Butker kicked off last week with his commencement address at Benedictine College. In a nutshell, he cited his religious beliefs to attack the President, the medical community’s response...
It Costs You Nothing
When I was growing up in the suburbs of New York City, even though the world’s financial center has a reputation for rudeness, my parents frequently reminded me that I should be polite and respectful to everyone, no matter who they were. “It doesn’t cost you anything to be polite,” my mom used to say. Recently, I learned that there’s a Spanish phrase that’s related to this idea: “Lo cortes no...
Return to Office: A Closer Look at the Latest Trends
Welcome back, colleagues and fellow industry observers! Today, we at the Center for Respectful Leadership are delving into compelling findings on the return-to-office (RTO) policies and hybrid work dynamics that are reshaping our work environments, as highlighted in our latest “The Respectful Leader Emergency Updates” series from March 21, 2024, titled “RTO – Return to...
Respect On Their Minds
This week I was invited to deliver a pre-keynote warmup and a workshop on respect at a large HR conference. Afterwards, many of the attendees approached me to share their stories and ask for help. Sadly, it appears that our extensive research is on target – today’s workplaces and employees are experiencing unprecedented levels of disrespect not only from customers and patients, but also from...
20 Consequences Of Promoting Leaders Who Lack People Skills
Gregg Ward was featured as a contributor to this Forbes Coaches Council article, read the full article on forbes.com. When someone rises to a leadership position, they are often expected to have both technical expertise and the ability to think strategically. However, what happens when an individual becomes a leader without demonstrating essential people skills? A leader who lacks soft skills...