The Best Way Out Is Through--Importance of Tolerance

#51. Tolerance     

“Listening to and appreciating differing perspectives and ideas; valuing diversity”

The Best Way Out is Through

“Should we honor all religious holidays or none?,” Eric asked as he looked at his HR team.  A fourth request had come in for “time off” for religious reasons.  Ernie declared that he was fed up with all of the special requests because it meant constant reworking schedules, workloads, and a host of other issues.  Jonita reminded the group that, “our employees are a very diverse group—besides Christians and Jews, we have Muslims, and a host of other religions represented in our population.  Habrim noted that, “if we don’t show tolerance of these different religious, we’ll lose a lot of people---they’ll go work somewhere else.”  Becky said, “I’ve looked at various calendars of religious holidays, I’ve listed all of the special requests we’ve received, and taken together, people are asking for hundreds of leave days we do not currently allow for.  This is a very expensive issue.”  “So we sink the company while pleasing everybody?  That makes sense,” barked Eric.

Quietly listening to all of the moments, Monica, VP for HR and Talent Management, said, “Our company mission and values statement articulates the idea that we are an inclusive company, seeking to welcome talented individuals regardless of race, creed, orientation, nationality, and religious preference.  How do our policies reflect this mission and perspective?  Are we walking our talk?  Let’s think through the values and business goals.  These are not at odds so we need to think about them at a complex level.  For example, is there a leave policy we can create that allows for choice and dramatically contains losses?  We are a creative and experienced group, let’s put our innovation hats on and figure this out.  Maybe what we need to do is intentionally create a special company celebration—our own Festivius!”

For the reflective reader:

Demonstrating tolerance can be hard work and leading in an organization where tolerance of differences is essential can be expensive.  Monica’s response to this discussion is complex and nuanced as she outlines how the group might proceed.  What hits you as her message?  How is she helping the group embrace tolerance as a cultural attribute for the company?  She is giving multiple ways to reframe the situation, which one is the most influential to you? 

People Skills Handbook: Action Tips to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence, (2012).  Aanstad, J, Corbett, P, Jourdan, C, and Pearman, R.

People Skills Handbook: Action Tips to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence