Lessons from a Stranger: Hitting the Pause Button to Become More Human

By |2017-03-24T15:00:07-04:00March 24th, 2017|Categories: Respectful Workplace|Tags: |

Sometimes, reminders of what’s really important in life present themselves when we’re not expecting them. Whatever the trigger, when our normal patterns of hamster-like busyness are interrupted, we become (even if for only a short while) a bit more present; more focused on observing instead of doing. And when we’re more present, we are more likely to see age-old truths that have defined the human experience since our earliest days.

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This Was Your Brain During the Election

By |2017-01-13T13:41:42-05:00November 23rd, 2016|Categories: Respectful Workplace|Tags: , , |

As we begin to move on after the most bruising political campaign recent memory, it is a good time for a hard look at how our democratic process turned so ugly and disenfranchising to so many Americans. How did we get to a place where the polarization and acid-like negativity actually became news in its own right? As someone who studies human and workplace behavior and focuses on how to drive organizational change, it is interesting to note that this political season has been fueled, in part, by a number of phenomena that I see regularly in the workplace—every workplace, not just in the halls of Congress or in campaign headquarters.

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The Best of Respectful Workplace: Empathy

By |2017-01-13T13:41:42-05:00August 24th, 2016|Categories: Respectful Workplace|Tags: |

According to a fascinating post about Narrative Empathy on the Psychology Today blog, "empathy" is a relatively new term to modern western cultures. Empathy in the workplace has been historically looked down as too much of an ultra soft skill. But in the last twenty or so years with the rise of emotional intelligence, empathy has been slowly making its way into the workplace. And that’s a good thing. When people can empathize with someone else in the workplace by emotionally putting themselves in others place in order to understand their perspective, it leads to higher levels of respect. The following are a series of articles posted over the past several years from the Respectful Workplace blog that discuss some of the ways that empathy can be incorporated into the workplace and beyond in order to create a more engaged and respectful culture.

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The Art of Being Wrong

By |2019-06-18T21:30:36-04:00March 9th, 2016|Categories: Respectful Workplace|Tags: , , |

Every day brings a myriad of opportunities to increase our awareness, wisdom and, ultimately, effectiveness. The problem is that most of us walk right past these opportunities because of a little glitch in our mental "software"... the need to be right. In this article, Paul Meshanko discusses how to go through life with an open mind and the intent to take in new information objectively by "learning to be wrong more often."

Putting Respect Into Action

By |2017-01-13T13:42:07-05:00October 4th, 2012|Categories: Respectful Workplace|Tags: |

I am in the middle of a fairly sizable harassment training project for a client. Lucky for me, the client’s new HR manager comes to all my sessions and chimes in. The employees often have to deal with, shall we say, a rather challenging customer base. And this HR manager has made it her job to really [...]

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Respect Tip: Empathize With a Set-Back or Loss

By |2017-01-13T13:42:08-05:00July 10th, 2012|Categories: Respect Tips|Tags: |

For the rest of the summer, we will feature Respect Tips inspired by the Why Respect Matters section of the recently released Respect Effect by Paul Meshanko. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was laid off from my first position after graduate school, working there less than a year. It was a devastating [...]

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Respect Tip: Say, “I’m Sorry” When Necessary

By |2017-01-13T13:42:16-05:00October 11th, 2011|Categories: Respect Tips|Tags: , |

I have a habit of saying "sorry" all the time. I am not sure why. I wonder if it has something to do with growing up female in this society or that I lived in London for a time and people are always saying "sorry" when they bump into you on the tube. Or could it [...]

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Respect Tip: Be Empathetic

By |2017-01-13T13:42:16-05:00October 4th, 2011|Categories: Respect Tips|Tags: |

Did you know that the word empathy is a relatively new term to modern western cultures? Neither did I, until I read this fascinating post about Narrative Empathy on the Psychology Today blog. Empathy in the workplace has been historically looked down as too much of an ultra soft skill.  But in the last twenty [...]

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Adventures of a Cultural Tourist

By |2019-06-18T21:32:37-04:00September 29th, 2011|Categories: Cultural Tourism|Tags: |

After I participated in our most recent Connecting With Respect workshop, I had an idea for a new blog series. At the conclusion of the day and half session, we were left with some tips for moving forward on the path to respect. One of the suggestions stuck in my mind: practice curiosity. I've always been [...]

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Respect Tip: Seek Out New Perspectives and Ideas

By |2011-09-27T11:01:17-04:00September 27th, 2011|Categories: Respect Tips|Tags: |

It's no secret. We live in a me-centered society. All you have to do is turn on the TV and watch this in action in a myriad of reality shows. Or open up your favorite social networking site and read other people's posts. Technology has made it easy to surround ourselves with people and ideas [...]

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