Workplace Civility and Leadership

Last week I received the latest “Leadership Moment” blog post by email from Lead Star (https://leadstar.us/leadership-blog/). The subject was “Manners, Appreciation and Civility.” After noting that there is an increasing interest in workplace civility, the post included an excerpt from a company’s historical newsletter, dated September 15, 1951.  The newsletter article advocated these practices:

• Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
• Smile at people. It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile.
• Call people by name.  The sweetest music to anyone’s ears is the sound of their own name.
• Be friendly. If you would like to have a friend, then be one.
• Be cordial.  Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.
• Be sincerely interested in others.  You can like almost everybody if you try.
• Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.
• Be considerate with the feelings of others—it will be appreciated.
• Be thoughtful of the opinions of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy—your own, the other person’s, and the right one.
• Be alert to give service.  What counts most in life is what we do for others.

This is great advice. As Lead Star noted, “The principles of etiquette and civility never go out of style.  Both are as timeless as leadership.” Take a moment to think about how you are implementing these practices in your life. We all can do better!