Find Your Phrase in Important Moments

Do you want to stand up to disrespectful behavior? Leaders should choose a few phrases to use reliably and skillfully — and then practice speaking them, especially under stress.

Respect, at its core, isn’t supposed to be partisan, political, or tribal.

In societies like the U.S., basic respect and dignity should be accorded to everyone. It’s not supposed to matter whether you’re a CEO or a CEO’s assistant, religious or agnostic, Black or White. The claim is this: You’re entitled to basic respect for yourself, and you’re expected to be respectful to everyone else.

Yet, if we’re honest, violations of decency and civility — of basic respect — still happen far too often in the workplace. According to an analysis of multiple studies, various forms of interpersonal disrespect and mistreatment cost organizations up to $2 trillion annually due to reduced employee health, effort, and performance.1 Whatever the exact figure is in your organization, research suggests disrespect in the workplace is a big problem.

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/find-your-phrase-in-important-moments/?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXCTJV2LS00O&cx_experienceActionId=showRecommendationsMW5PLSZG4PJI15#cxrecs_s