This may sound like an exercise akin to patting your head and rubbing your tummy, but I am quite serious about this seemingly simple concept. A reader recently sent me this note illustrating the lack of awareness and kindness towards others. Perhaps we can all learn from this reader’s questions: “I really enjoy your column. Thanks for the great suggestions for the New Year, which I intend to use. One thing that maybe you could consider writing about is the following: It really bothers me that many people today seem [...]

The year is coming to an end and number crunching is underway. Final results show that your company will break numerous records this year for profitability. Mr. CEO it is time for you to plan your investor call and all hands staff meeting to share the news. What message will you deliver? Who will you thank for the success? What path will you set for 2012? Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints broke the record for NFL single season passing yards on Monday Night Football. The record stood [...]

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 [...]

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 of my most popular presentations is entitled Speak Up Speak Out: Personal Power and Respect at Work. As the title suggests, the goal of the workshop is to inspire, empower and educate people to speak up when they have concerns and conflicts at work, particularly when faced with power based behaviors like harassment and bullying. I developed this session as a direct response to what I experience repeatedly in my work as a Respectful Workplace Solutions Expert. The most common response that people have when on the receiving end [...]

Most of us grew up with the nursery rhyme “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”. At a young age, when we would parrot such expressions while being verbally bullied, it seemed quite effective. There we would be, two kids face-to-face, finding our way through our worlds – the playground or the classroom, deciding who would have the upper hand. Usually once this exchange was completed, order was established and we went on about our business. Whatever was said by the bully didn’t seem [...]

I was talking to a client recently about a local HR conference she had attended. When I asked her for her thoughts she said that the main theme that emerged for her was a variation of how we are all going to have to work harder, smarter, better and faster if we want to be successful. Now I don’t know about you, but if I have to work any harder, smarter, better or particularly faster, I’ll need to break into light speed. The pace of change we are all dealing [...]

No one can argue we had a tough winter. But now, Spring is officially here, and it is clearly time to come out of hibernation. As I’ve suggested before, now is the time to begin implementing some of the hopes and goals we set for ourselves for the new year. As the earth shows rebirth and renewal in so many ways, it is perhaps the greatest opportunity for us to take a look inside of ourselves. After all, if we cannot set aside time to perform some internal spring cleaning, [...]

The main theme of my book Road to Respect: Path to Profit is that everyone succeeds when workplace practices are aligned with values, and in particular the ethical value of respect. The reason is simple; values are the glue that unite us in our humanity. I share a story in Road to Respect about an experience I had as a participant in a values exercise at a bullying symposium. In this exercise each individual was given a paper that listed 14 ethical values. The facilitator then divided us into groups. [...]

It may be hard to believe but something as basic as listening could just be the answer to creating a supportive and respectful work environment. At work, many people spend a great deal of time talking and wanting to be heard. Some of us are on the phone all day. Others make a career out of giving presentations at conferences. The talkers often expect to be heard. And what happens when they’re ignored?   Most often, people who are not being heard, or listened to will talk even more. Sometimes [...]