Weekly Leadership Tip
 
Sign up now to Keith Ayers' Weekly Leadership Tip. These two-minute tidbits, covering issues from effective communication to coping under pressure, provide you with a weekly diet of simple solutions to everyday leadership problems. You can apply these quick and valuable pieces of advice to your leadership and start benefiting immediately from Keith's expertise.
 
 
Sample Issue
 
Tip Number 24: Respecting Diversity in the Workplace
 
We all like to share a laugh and a joke in the workplace; it's good for us. Like in any walk of life, however, comments can spin out of control. There is a delicate balance between an acceptable and healthy level of humor, and behavior that can cause offense to people in your organization.
 
People from various backgrounds and generations often have a different set of standards when it comes to respecting diversity in the workplace. I have found in my experience that a comment which one employee finds innocuous or funny may be deeply offensive to another team member. It is up to you to ensure that you maintain a respectful culture in your organization and that humor or banter does not cross the line.
 
When dealing with this issue, clarity and consistency are the most important attributes for you to display. You need to set the standard of behavior within your team for what is acceptable behavior in the way people treat each other. If you encounter inappropriate or discriminatory behavior, it is vital that you speak up and put a stop to it decisively.
 
It is also important here to show understanding by listening empathetically with people who have suffered discrimination. In fact, you can also use this method for dealing with the perpetrators. Remember, they may not have the same standards as you for respecting diversity and may not have intended to offend, but you need to explain the standards that you expect from the organization and its team members.
 
If you are unsure as to where to draw the line when trying to instill a culture that respects diversity, here are some ideas:

1. To increase your own understanding of what causes offense and what is unacceptable, talk with some people from different backgrounds to you, within and outside of your organization, and ask what kind of behavior they feel crosses the line.
2. Ask others to give you feedback—again, within and outside the organization—if they ever notice discriminatory behavior or insensitivity from you.
3. Take a stand: if you encounter inappropriate behavior, say so! There's no need to be overly critical, the emphasis here is on developing a culture of respect, based on an understanding of appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Encouraging respect for diversity is just one idea from a vast wealth of information Keith Ayers has to offer about leadership.
 
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