With a backdrop of social polarization around the world, for many, work is one of the only settings where people from different walks of life find themselves working together toward common goals.
Last year saw much talk of restoring civility in the workplace in the wake of divisive world events including wars, controversial elections and changes in political leadership.
And today a growing spotlight is cast on how big companies and public sector organizations can address this. Is it possible to cast aside judgment and collaborate well at work when so much seems to divide us?
At Insights, we know it’s possible.
Insights Discovery creates a common language that transcends differences
Readers familiar with Insights Discovery know that the key to great collaboration is to understand people’s personality-based values, preferences and default communication styles.
As executive leaders and managers, it’s our role to recognize these traits within our teams. It’s essential to encourage non-judgmental dialogue that can transcend differences and empower co-workers to communicate and align their efforts.
Start with understanding others’ values and preferences
It matters that our different perspectives are listened to, heard and included in workplace decisions. From some personality types, this inclusion is critical.
When employees feel heard and respected, they’re more likely to collaborate, stay engaged and experience less stress; leading to better morale, higher job satisfaction and better productivity.
Yet we’re inundated with media reports on employee disengagement and detachment, and much of it because people at work don’t feel valued, heard or understood.
If we’re committed to creating a civil and supportive work environment, we need to help people connect on a new level, a level that helps co-workers get beyond differences in ideology and experiences, at least while at work. Simply put, we must dial up the emotional intelligence.
That starts with training around in-built personality preferences.
Introducing a common non-judgmental language within teams is a reliable way to help team members reconnect
Understanding your co-workers’ deep-rooted preferences and communication styles, and knowing how to converse about them in a non-judgmental and supportive way, will help you collaborate with them.
This where the Insights language of color energies comes in.
It centers around a four-color psychometric profiling model that empowers co-workers to transcend interpersonal challenges around age, culture, religious beliefs or different positions on the political spectrum.
It teaches teams how to communicate in a supportive way that creates and values psychological safety. Co-workers learn to recognize their own preferred communication style, and learn how and why it might differ from that of their colleagues, then adjust and adapt their style to suit different situations and people.
Discovering your lead color energy - Fiery Red, Cool Blue (the Thinking energies, based on Jungian psychology), Sunshine Yellow or Earth Green (Jung’s Feeling energies) can help you dial up your empathy for others’ working styles and preferences.
Knowing where your preferences lie compared to your co-workers is the first step to seeing difficult situations through a different lens and keeping your cool when conversations get heated.
Do you recognize yourself or your colleagues in the Insights Discovery color wheels for good day and bad day traits?
Why colour energies are important for supporting civility at work
Misplaced assumptions, based on misunderstanding our co-workers’ motive, are at the root of most interpersonal workplace issues.
When people act differently to how we would act, or seem to think differently than how we would think, it can stonewall progress. It’s not enough to understand how we operate (although that’s one half of the equation), but we must also learn how others operate, so that we can stop distorting our perception of those whose personalities we might find challenging.
Traits that are more common in one personality ‘type’ are more likely to be felt in a negative way by another type. Thinking types who lead with Cool Blue and Fiery Red may experience Feeling types as unfocused or easily distracted. Colleagues who lead with Earth Green or Sunshine Yellow may find Thinking types to be aloof or overly direct.
But better self-awareness, and awareness of what might be motivating others, means we can more accurately interpret our colleagues and begin to trust their good intentions…
Once we understand the different ways that our colleagues are trying to honor us, we can build flexibility into how we ourselves communicate with them.
There’s always a moving moment in an Insights Discovery workshop, when participants realize for the first time the degree to which they’ve inadvertently judged others for communicating differently.
The fact is that our tolerance grows proportionately to our awareness, and if we can increase it through the right training and programing, we’re more likely to recognize our colleague’s efforts in accurate – and meaningful – ways, and come to appreciate them.
How individuals can support civility in the workplace
Active listening is a key component of earning the trust of the person you’re talking to. Yet the reality is that most of us are not great listeners!
Consider how you, as a team member/leader, hear and respond to the views of people you don’t naturally relate to.
The key to effective listening is:
- Clear your mind: Do not to assume what the speaker is going to say (and formulate a response in your head).
- Keep your heart open: Do no judge what you think they’re going to say or how they’re saying it, or project past experiences or beliefs into the conversation that hold no bearing.
- Stay silent: As humans we’re wired to talk (and some more than others). As leaders, we’re wired to problem-solve. Resist the urge to put your perspective onto a co-worker’s experience.
The role of empathetic leadership and psychological safety in a healthy workplace
Civility starts at the top.
Leaders must model respectful communication, encourage open dialogue and recognize people’s contributions openly and frequently.
Cognitive empathy is key to creating psychological safety, and for diverse teams to work, leaders must can use empathy to create an environment that supports those different perspectives and voices (whether or not the leader agrees).
A well-defined code of conduct that sets out clear expectations and policies will define your organization’s take on respectful behavior, and expectations can be reinforced via onboarding programs and performance reviews to strengthen this commitment.
All of these steps, plus agility and kindness, will create the psychological safety that’s needed for every member of the team to feel valued.
Civility is not always easy. People are beautifully complex. The ‘line’ of what is acceptable behavior at work is unique to all of us.
But if we can develop better self-awareness, challenge our perceptions and understand the motivations of others, we can adapt how we communicate and respond to others. In this way, we can smooth tension, support our team members equally, and allow for the flow of ideas and connection necessary for building effective and innovative teams.
Insights Discovery is an L&D training system that creates high-performing teams by enhancing awareness and workplace relationships. Using a memorable four-color model to illustrate different behavioral styles, it creates a common language that connects colleagues across geographical and cultural boundaries, fostering collaboration, driving productivity and transforming workplaces.
