Articles

• Treat people with courtesy and respect leaving them with their human dignity.
• Take an inclusive approach encouraging members of the team to share their ideas.
• Embrace differences as a team strength. Avoid labeling differences as an obstacle.
• If an idea is a good one, use it.
• Think before you act. Weigh the risks of various alternatives. Knee-jerking behaviours demonstrate a lack of depth and engender disrespect.
• Use active listening skills to process other points of view. Remember, someone may have a perspective that can positively enhance your solution.
• Get over your biases and treat people equitably.
• Build your courage.
• Learn to praise as much as you criticize. You will build respect, confidence and performance.
• Encourage flows of constructive information.
• Do some self reflection to determine if you may be inadvertently bullying members of your team.
• When you make changes in your behaviours, be consistent with your new behaviours. Flip-flopping in and out of old patterns will only create the perception that you were not serious about making meaningful change.

In a diverse work environment, building respect can enhance team productivity and creativity by reducing levels of conflict and building healthy working relationships. An unknown author summed it up this way, “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.”

Yvette Bethel is CEO of Organizational Soul, an HR Consulting and Leadership Development company. If you are interested in exploring how you can create higher performing team leaders, you contact her at www.orgsoul.com.