How Do Leaders Effectively Deal with Incivility?

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

More and more I am hearing from leaders the challenges they are experiencing with workplace incivility.  This wasn’t a term I had really heard too much until recently.  Wikipedia defines it as “low-intensity deviant behavior” with ambiguous intent to harm the target. There is a difference between harassment, violence and incivility.  The behaviours that are normally associated with incivility include insulting or rude comments, telling lies about other people, spreading false rumors, social isolation and just plain bad manners.

So what is the leader of an organization to do? Don’t they have more important things to attend to then what some might consider petty. Nothing could be further from the truth. This type of behaviour can have a negative impact on morale, relationships and ultimately the bottom line.

One of our alliance partners has been working with a number of organizations in both the public and private sectors, bringing awareness and education to their organizations.  For those companies who are working with her they are experiencing higher levels of engagement and productivity, not to mention happier employees.

According to The Cost of Bad Behavior by Christine Pearson and Christine Porath, it is far more widespread than people realize—and incivility in the workplace has devastating effects. Here are just a few of the statistics from their research study of 800 employers:

• 96 percent have experienced incivility at work
• 48 percent of employees claim they were treated uncivilly at work at least once a week
• 10 percent said they witnessed civility every day
• 94 percent of workers who are treated uncivilly say they get even with their offenders

What a actions and behaviours are considered to be uncivil in the workplace?

• When an employee deliberately destroys an employee’s reputation
• Telling lies behind someone’s back
• Being obnoxious or rude
• Not providing all the information when they have it (purposely withholding)
• Even simple things like: not use manners such a please and thank you, interrupting or ignoring, checking text or email messages in a meeting, or arriving late to  a meeting (generally overall being disrespectful of colleagues, managers and sometimes even customers)

There is a lot of time and money invested every year by powerful leadership teams who want to create a more engaged workplace and it can be a waste of time and resources if the culture is not one of respect.  Teams that work in an environment that is disrespectful, often experience higher levels of stress and lower morale.  Sick time increases and in some cases it can create angry employees prone to outbursts.  Creating a civil workplace is not only good for the employees it is good for business and customer service.

Here are a few tips on how to create a more respectful workplace:

1. Increasing Awareness
By recognizing that incivility is an issue, it is time for the leaders to step up, acknowledge that it is happening and educate your employees.  A lot of people don’t realize what is actually going on and causing them so my frustration at work. Leaders need to talk about what it is and what it looks like. There is a lot of research on the impact of incivility, this information needs to  shared.

2. Workplace Standards Need to be Created
Create and publish clear, written standards for acceptable behavior and not acceptable behaviour. The Leaders in your organization must participate fully in the creation process and most importantly model the behaviour they want to see.  Emphasize the importance of consistency in the respect for employees. It is a great idea to include civility as one of your values.

 3. Training and Coaching
This step in critical to raise awareness as some folks may not view their behaviour as uncivil.  Making sure employees know with certainty what is considered acceptable behaviour and what is not.

 4. Open Communication and Feedback
Effective leaders know the importance of open communication and feedback. They need to set the standard and demonstrate what that standard looks like during every day activities.  Employees need to feel safe in providing feedback at those times when incivility takes place.  This is critical to the success of the program.Working in a civil workplace is good for workers, customers, leadership team and the organization as a whole.  Many organizations are making the creation and maintenance of a respectful workplace standards part of their goals and values.

Athena Alliance Members – A Closer Look

Since I started the Athena Alliance blogtalk radio show I have had the opportunity to share with our listeners the expertise of our diverse group of trainers, facilitators, coaches and consultants.  Each member has a profile featured on our website and I thought for upcoming blogs I would share with our readers a more personal look at some of our partners and in no particular order.

Dorothy Lazovik

I was first introduced in 2005 to Dorothy via Vicky Wilson (a former alliance member who has passed).  I followed my usual intake process and had a chat on the phone with Dorothy to determine fit.  Our conversation flowed beautifully and she piqued my interest as I never actually spoken with anyone about personal branding.  I knew organizations spent millions on their brand recognition, but I had never thought about the importance of congruency in how you present yourself.

We scheduled a breakfast meeting for a few weeks later.  I was very impressed when I met Dorothy and could more clearly understand what she was talking about when she said how your dress, speak and interact with others communicates a message.  Part of my intake process is that I need to experience each of my alliance partners providing their service and Dorothy was no different.

I was going through her process so I could understand first-hand what she did and the impact it can have.  The first step was an online assessment, followed by a one-on-one session to review the results of the assessment, create a personal brand for myself, look at my current wardrobe and make up.

There were no surprises in the Prevue assessment as I had done many like it before and it substantiated for me that it was a good assessment tool.  The next step is what surprised me.  Dorothy explained to me that when she spoke with me on the phone I was very warm, friendly and professional and yet when she met me she was surprised because how I was dressed did not communicate the same message as the person on the phone.  I came to our meeting in a black pinstriped suit with a white blouse and too much make up.  My hair was short and red at the time.  She felt there was a disconnect in who I was and how I was dressing. 

After that we explored what image I wanted to portrait.  I said I wanted to be known as a fun professional, which for me seemed impossible before meeting Dorothy.  I thought you could be one or the other, not both at the same time.  I was wrong.  We proceeded to have my makeup done; my hairstyle and colour changed and went to shop so she could show me the types of clothes the best fit my body type and my new image.  This was somewhat confronting to me because it meant changing everything including not wearing black!

Over the next few months I slowly transformed my wardrobe and my hair colour was returned to its natural colour and was growing.  About six months after I had gone through Dorothy’s process I met a former colleague for lunch and the first thing she said was “It’s not like it is a new you, it is more that it is the real you.”  For the first time in years I felt totally comfortable with who I am.

Dorothy has continued to work with leaders and employees to help them get in touch with their authentic selves.

Here is Dorothy’s profile: 

http://webmarketingnorth.net/athena/alliance-partners/dorothy-lazovik

WOW!!!  What an Alliance!

When I first started the Athena Alliance seven years ago I had no idea what great relationships and wonderful people I would have the privilege of working with.  I often hear from my partners what wonderful customers we have.  I couldn’t agree with them more.  We have been able to support small , mid-size and large organizations with a plethora of various training programs, coaching agreements and Human Resources consulting support.

I can remember the first time I met one of my long standing customers.  She was new in her position and had a mandate to create a learning culture for this mid-size construction company.  Her energy and passion for creating a powerful college was infectious.  Every alliance partner has consistently commented on how fantastic it is to work with her and their employees.  She loved the alliance concept right from the beginning and could see how aligning with me could save her a lot of time and also have trust that the trainers and coaches I introduced her to would be able to deliver the customized solutions she required.

To date she has contracted our alliance partners to provide training in the following areas:

• Leadership (many areas)
• Listening skills
• Power hours
• Empowerment programs for the Admin team
• Priority/time management
• Business writing
• Disc
• Presentation Skills
• Mentoring program
• Outlook

Every year we sit together and discuss what they have accomplished in the past year and what they want to focus on in the coming year.  I then get to work with my partners to make sure she has the partnerships she needs to make it happen.   She is such a delight to work with and we are all grateful for the opportunity to provide the ongoing support for this organization. 

Just one more reason I love what  I do!!!

By
Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC