Encouraging a tolerant culture will not only improve the outcome of your organisation, it’ll make employees happier and healthier – that’s the word from one senior advisor who says HR professionals should be pushing for patience and understanding in the workplace.
“In order for teams to be at their best, in order for us to leverage the full potential of groups of human beings, their ability to collaborate is everything,” says management specialist Karen Gately.
“Their ability to share their ideas, to engage in a healthy, robust debate and make effective decisions together really determines whether or not we’ll ever leverage potential and at the heart of that ability is great relationships which are based on trust and respect.”
Gately, who also penned the People Manager’s Toolkit, says one of things which is most likely to undermine trust and respect – and therefore the ability to collaborate – is conflict.
“Conflict is often fuelled by a lack of tolerance and a lack of sensitivity in the way we deal with each other,” Gately tells HRD.
A difficult trait to define, Gately says tolerance is reflected in a person’s willingness to be patient but also to understand and work with difference – not just endure it.
“It’s not just putting up with things we don’t like, it’s about understanding that there are different perspectives that people bring, there are different values, there are different backgrounds, experiences, and if we have an intolerance to difference then we can be very close minded and create conflicts that don’t help us to ultimately thrive,” she explains.
However, if tolerance is an individual personality trait, is it really possible for HR professionals to encourage a change in their employees?
“Of course!” says Gately. “You can expect it.”
While individuals may be naturally more tolerant than others, Gately says employees should all be capable of regulating their responses and behaviour.
“It’s entirely reasonable to expect people to work hard to minimise adverse impacts they have on other people,” she tells HRD. “We all get to choose how we think, how we feel and how we behave but emotional intelligence, in part, is reflected in our ability to regulate our conduct.”
Just because someone has a lower patience threshold or less tolerance, doesn’t mean they are entitled to lash out or be uncooperative, she says.
“If I find something frustrating or intolerable I don’t get to be rude or aggressive or dismissive or not engage with respect and indecency,” she says. “In that moment, you can choose to count to ten, walk away, do something else that is healthy and respectful as opposed to behave in an aggressive or dismissive way.”
However, if HR professionals want to create a tolerant culture in their workplace, Gately says the first step is to ensure they’re practicing what they preach.
“Lead by example,” she urges. “If you’re constantly communicating with a lack of tolerance, then that clearly doesn’t set the right tone. You have to help people understand that there are different points of view, you’re not always right, you need to remain open minded and play nicely with your colleagues.”
Gately also encourages leader to be particularly mindful of their own tolerance levels when they’re in times of high-stress or low energy.
“Your intolerance is likely to rise when your spirit is drained so when we’re lacking energy, patience can start to wear thin and we can start to become intolerant in ways that we otherwise might.”
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