How you show up and treat people means everything. Either you lift people up by respecting them, making them feel valued, appreciated and heard, or you hold people down by making them feel small, insulted, disregarded or excluded.
Christine Porath, Associate Professor of Management, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University
Takeaways of Note:
A survey of business school alumni working in all different organizations asked “how they reacted in a specific situation when they were treated rudely, disrespectfully or insensitively” and found that incivility made people less motivated:
– 66% cut back work efforts
– 80% lost time worrying about what happened
– 12% left their job
– Cisco Corp estimated, conservatively, that incivility was costing them $12M/yr
– a separate study found that witnesses’ performance decreased, too – and not just marginally, but significantly.
In surveying “why people are uncivil”:
– #1 reason was stress – people feel overwhelmed
– Another reason was skepticism, even concerned, about being civil or appearing nice – “nice guys finish last”, but it turns out, they don’t… to the contrary, research found that the #1 reason tied to executive failure was an insensitive, abrasive or bullying style.
What do people want most from their leaders?… data from over 20,000 employees around the world found the answer was simple: respect. Being treated with respect was more important than recognition, $, appreciation, useful feedback, even opportunities for learning. Those that felt respected were healthier, more focused, more likely to stay with their organization and far more engaged.