Today I joined a webinar discussing Civility and Respect in the NHS. It both saddened and inspired me.
Saddened by the statistics shared by Duncan Lewis evidencing the impact work place incivility and disrespect has on individuals, their colleagues and ultimately patients.
Inspired by the newly produced Civility and Respect Toolkit launched by Radhika Nair, MCIPD and its potential to make a real difference. (Follow the link)
My thoughts turned, of course, to self awareness and how it could fit in the fight to improve civility and respect.
One of my main drivers in studying self awareness was the impact work colleagues had on those around them – were they aware, unaware or ‘aware don’t care’, as Tasha Eurich refers to it.
I’m convinced that if we improve people’s self awareness we can improve their level of civility. But it’s not just about improving self awareness. We need to work on improving it when the chips are down, stress is high and emotions are frayed. It’s then that we’re in real danger of falling short of our own standards of kindness.
I pledge to make my research useful in improving civility and respect.