At a recent networking event I was standing near a couple of younger women who were deep in a conversation about challenges they were facing at work. After introducing ourselves I learned that they both work in large organizations, each in a position of power. One woman was talking about a staff member who seemed to have no idea as to what constituted appropriate workplace behaviour. Apparently this is a common problem because the other woman seemed to be experiencing a lot of the same issues at her workplace. A [...]

While this tip can have multiple interpretations, I am referring to meetings. You know the person ( maybe it’s you!) who monopolizes an entire meeting with their comments. Or it’s the person, who gives the longest explanation for the simplest point. Whoever it is, you get the idea. This type of disruptive and disrespectful behavior takes many forms. Make it Happen The next time you are in a meeting and notice that you are contributing too much, try to scale it back, if necessary. Instead let the person, who never [...]

Last night while watching NBC Nightly News, they featured a story about people looking for work and a center that provides them with classes and coaching. One of the exercises that the job seekers were required to participate in involved being videoed while mock interviewed. Afterward, they were required to watch a playback of the video but with the sound turned down. Why? Well, if you’ve ever taking a public speaking class, you know that usually one of the assignments requires you to be taped speaking so you can see [...]

Autumn is here and with it brought a return to school for students, a renewed energy in the workplace with summer holidays behind us, and the end of the extensive summer vacation for government. With everyone raring to go, there are bound to be uncontrolled fits and misplaced bursts of energy, many people jockeying for positions of comfort after their rejuvenating summer breaks. Undoubtedly, there will be instances where people are so enthusiastic or full of themselves in general that they will exhibit uncivil behavior. We are, after all, human [...]

One surefire way to create respect among people is to look for common ground. Too often we let our differences divide us instead of looking for our similarities. I bet we’d be surprised by how much we all have in common. A great example of this revolves around values. I know the word has gotten some bad press lately, but what I am talking about are the core values that each and every one of us hold dear. These types of values are personal but help shape the way we [...]

Imagine that each and every day you are wearing an invisible backpack. And that the people you interact with either add to it with positive or negative emotions. At the end of the day, how heavy is your emotional backpack? This is a metaphor that stems from our Connecting With Respect program that we lead for organizations. In this program, we ask participants to explain (in behavioral and actionable) terms what respect and disrespect feel like. We then go on to explain how those behaviors create the emotions that end [...]

Probably one of the easiest ways to earn respect in the workplace is to mentor a colleague who is new to your team or organization. I am sure you know about the traditional mentoring process where a seasoned colleague works with a younger staff member in a formal way. Maybe they agree to meet at a set time to discuss predetermined goals. While this type of mentoring is effective, I’d like to suggest a more informal approach to mentoring. And that is simply making sure that your behavior at work [...]

Our moral perceptions of right and wrong may be just that – perceptions. In this brief video, Paul Meshanko explores those levels of certainty in our thinking. How certain are you?

I suppose there is no better day, than today to discuss embracing dissenting opinions. It is election day here in the United States, after all. And unless you haven’t noticed, politics in this country has become a place where dissenting opinions have been losing value. It seems that nowadays it is only my way and no other way. But valuing those opinions that are different from our own – even if we don’t agree with them is a more powerful tool to building consensus among people and groups. By acknowledging that someone else’s [...]

I created a version of the following scenario for an upcoming Connecting with Respect program I am co- facilitating next week. Read over the situation and try to take into consideration the perspectives of all the players. Chris just turned 18 years old. Chris is an African-American and lives with his mother, who has been his sole parent for most of his life. He just started his first after school job setting up equipment for a local recreation center. He needs this job to help his mom pay the bills, [...]