Thinking about the attributes necessary for a respectful organisation for me starts with thinking about the environment that I not only want to work in but also the environment that will bring out the best in me; the environment where I will feel safe to learn, grow and achieve.

I am also going to think about my own behaviours, going back to my blog post from June this year, Culture is NOT someone else’s job. — Respect at Work - If it is our organisation, then it is our organisational culture, and we all have shared responsibility for how it is shaped. I am going to engage vulnerability and be conscious of my own personal integrity. This quote by Brene Brown sums this up beautifully:

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.” – Brene Brown

Once I have taken the time to reflect on my own level of respect I am going to turn my lens to the organisation. I am going to sit back and quietly notice the culture I am a part of, I am going to do this as an observer, depersonalising my emotions and instinctual reactions and instead sitting quietly and trying to imagine the culture from the eyes of all participants.

I hope that the attributes I will see espoused throughout my organisation (even in the dark corners) are these:

1. Active listening

2. Support

3. Kindness and compassion

4. Inclusion

5. Value

6. Positivity

7. Accountability

Active listening
Are people listening to speak or listening to hear? Do people take the time to listen with their whole selves and not just their ears? Without agreeing or disagreeing are people valuing each other’s right to speak up.

Support

Do people ‘have each other’s back’? Do people check-in with each other, remembering the shared purpose of the organisation and that meeting goals is a team effort?

Kindness and compassion

Kindness is the warm smile you offer to a stranger, the helping hand you extend without a second thought. It’s the sprinkle of goodness that can brighten up any ordinary day. Compassion, though, digs a bit deeper. It’s the heartfelt understanding when someone is in pain, coupled with the genuine urge to help ease their burden. www.enlightio.com/kindness-vs-compassion

Inclusion

Inclusion is not just noting the diversity in the room, it’s ensuing that everyone is represented, heard, and valued. It’s more than just a Diversity and Inclusion statement or policy. Step-back and really notice your environment from the lens of someone who is different to you.

Value

What makes people in your organisation feel valued? Have you asked them? When we feel valued we commit and engage more, and this equates to more productive organisations.

Positivity

Just like negativity can be contagious, so can positivity. This does not mean casting a beam of sunshine on everything, all emotions have a place and can and should be acknowledged (a workplace culture of forced positivity can be just as dangerous). But there is a choice involved and choosing positivity over negativity can lighten the toughest culture.

Accountability

For me accountability and integrity go together, personal accountability as well as organisational accountability. Does your organisation (and your people) take responsibility for their actions? Does everyone answer to the same expectations? And is the accountability shared evenly throughout?

These are the 7 attributes that I expect to see in a Respectful Organisational Culture, and the thing I love most about these attributes is that when you start trying to define them you notice that they all feed off each other; each one supports and/or relies on the next.

Respect at Work facilitates discussions about respect, respectful communication, and respectful behaviours, have look here at some of the training options we offer.