A lot of companies put respect as one of their core values; but what does it truly mean? What is the definition of being respectful? I invite you to pay attention to Christine Porath’s talk: “Why being respectful to your coworkers is good for business”. My first takeaway is that we have to define and communicate what is uncivil within the company. Some behaviors such as harassment are obviously uncivil but, others, more in the passive-aggressive communication mode, are considered disrespectful by some and normal by others. So let’s speak out and define what is civil and uncivil in our company, for example, is it civil to bring our laptop to a meeting and noticeably check our e-mails? This definition of respectful behavior will contribute to creating the safe internal environment proposed by Simon Sinek, enhancing performance and freeing energy to fight the competition outside the organization. All frustrations and internal conflicts we can prevent by openly talking about what is respectful within our organization will let our co-workers focus on performance and the bottom line. A coach can be useful here, by supporting the process of defining what is respectful or by integrating this definition of respect in the executives and talents coaching programs. Having respect be a part of the company leadership model will let us promote executives who consistently demonstrate respectful and civil behaviors. Let’s state clearly that being nice and civil makes up a big part of leader-like behavior. We can still have strong opinions, disagree, have conflict or give negative feedback civilly, with respect. Those behaviors will bring us respect in return and people will most likely have our back if we face some difficulties.

How do respectful behaviors bring performance? By encouraging collaboration and initiative, knowing that we will be treated respectfully, but not only. Incivility is costing money, people are cutting back their effort, don’t engage in potential fruitful relationships, and spend time worrying about those disrespectful behaviors. It does not only affect the people directly involved but also the witnesses who start to carry the incivilities, lose focus, and trigger protective behaviors.

Civil environments generate creativity, productivity, helpfulness, happiness, and safety. So promoting respect is not a weakness and it impacts positively the bottom line. As HR executives and coaches, we can positively influence the performance of our organization by speaking openly about respect and civility. And you, how do you deal with respect in your organization? I would be happy to get your point of view about how important this topic is for you. Let me know.

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