“An organization’s overall success often relies on diversity of thought and experience. ”
We live in fractious, tumultuous times where hunkering down in our ideological bubbles allows our ideas to be reinforced and become entrenched as facts instead of mere beliefs.
But being able to have sometimes difficult conversations, especially with those who may not share our beliefs, is imperative. Workplaces, though, are full of ideas and opinions from outside our ideological sphere. The best ones provide an environment where it’s safe to share without fear of retaliation.
While doing this can be challenging and uncomfortable, differing viewpoints are necessary for creativity, problem solving and innovation, and encourage an open-mindedness and empathy amongst colleagues. These situations can be full of awkwardness, tension, and sometimes even dysfunction and contempt. Yet, an organization’s overall success often relies on diversity of thought and experience.
So it’s critical for organizations to build and support a culture where workers feel safe to share their beliefs and points of view, without backlash. This kind of conversation and communication fosters cooperation and creates a more productive and proactive workplace.
Through open, receptive communication, we become more aware, empathetic, and find common ground. Unfortunately, most people in leadership positions, especially mid-level managers, don’t have much training in bridging differences, fostering open communication and offering psychological safety. It is crucial that leaders across organizations work to empower employees at all levels in these skills.
Here are suggested actions that the leadership of an organization can take to support employees as they address the challenges of a workplace full of diverse ideas and people.
1. Leverage the organization’s values and past practices: This helps create clear messaging and expectations for how employees are to treat each other. By extending already supported ways of being at work, you make clear your position on openness and respect without appearing to be adding new guidelines and procedures. For example, if the firm has a value of transparency, you can use this to explain that we work best as a team when our perspectives are shared and listened to. We needn’t always agree with each other, but we do need to respect what others share.
2. Role model: Share publicly when you and your fellow managers have differences of opinions and perspectives on things happening in the world at large. Show that through sharing, listening, and respectful disagreement, deeper understanding and appreciation can occur.
3. Give employees opportunities to reflect and communicate: It’s often the case that when something awful on the world stage is taking place, that we discourage people from sharing, because it can bring tension.
Instead, providing a safe and respectful space is critically important. Set up an environment where staff feels comfortable knowing that it’s OK to be uncomfortable. For example, you can allocate physical space– like a part of the company dining area or a specific conference room — for reflection and perhaps open conversation. The United Nations has a dedicated room where people go to work out issues and listen to each other. Alternatively, you can build support groups for employees to share their struggles, concerns, learnings and best practices. Have senior leaders serve as mentors and guides to these support groups.
4. Be mindful: Some circumstances might make it difficult for employees to do their best work. Many people find solace in focusing on their work in times of strife. By providing freedom and flexibility, leaders can allow people to utilize that time in a way that works best for them and still allows them to complete their work. Some employees may be grateful to have a conversation about altering their workload slightly to alleviate extra stress. Perhaps certain deadlines can be pushed out, or leaders can encourage breaks between meetings, allowing for time to process or blow off steam as needed.
5. Teach and encourage employees to deeply listen to others: Most of us listen just enough to get the gist of what someone is saying before we start formulating our responses. Empathetic listening is very different: You’re showing that you are willing to take time with them, be present, and acknowledge that you heard their point.
My colleague, Collins Dobbs, uses a model called Pace, Space, Grace.
- Slow things down so that you can really pay attention to what is being said (pace).
- Move to a place where there are fewer distractions and be present oriented (space).
- Give yourself permission to attend to not only what is said, but how it is said along with noticing what your intuition provides (grace).
By providing a workplace where employees can feel comfortable and safe to share their differing opinions and approaches, we allow for deeper connection and potentially more engaged and appreciative employees. This requires careful thought, reflection and testing of ideas on the part of leadership, but by focusing on these areas of connection, organizations can make small but essential steps forward.
Matt Abrahams is a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, the author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot (S&S/Simon Element, 2023); Speaking Up Without Freaking Out (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2016), and host of theThink Fast, Talk Smart podcast.
More: ‘The political is personal’: Can you be fired for your political opinions — or for signing a petition about Israel and Palestine?
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