The Business Case for Respect Is Not Enough
Assuming that members of the C-Suite won’t make a move in any direction without a compelling business case for action, I’ve been working for decades to find and present data that convinces leaders that respect and Respectful Leadership™ really do make a powerful, positive difference in what I call the “3 P’s” – partnership, productivity, and performance.
At the Center for Respectful Leadership, we make it clear to our clients that if they invest in creating Actively Respectful Cultures (ARCs) in their companies, then they’ll see a measurable, positive impact on retention, revenues, and sustainability. The data that proves this is out there, we’ve found it, and always cite it in keynotes and training programs. As a result, more companies are coming to understand that creating and supporting respectful work environments is good for business.
But a recent study conducted by researchers in the UK of Fortune 500 companies and their messaging on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) leads me to think that I, and many other experts and their client companies, may be undermining ourselves, that we should be paying just as much attention to the moral and “fairness” case for respect as we do the business case.
In brief, the researchers found that when a company promotes only the business case for DE&I – for example on its website and marketing materials – then job applicants from underrepresented groups will fear that if hired, they’ll be perceived by their colleagues as a token and just a number in a recruiting quota, rather than a valued contributor with unique skills, knowledge, and experience.
This can lead to social distancing between them and the majority groups at the company who may be stereotyping them, viewing them only as a “diversity hire.” Understandably, this undercuts the new hire’s psychological safety and sense of belonging. And it makes sense that this could lead to poorer partnership, productivity, and performance, not to mention a greater chance of conflict, disengagement, and turnover.
But the researchers also indicated that when a company promotes and markets the “fairness case” for DE&I – i.e., that it’s the “moral and/or right thing to do,” and “it’s one of our core values,” without referencing the business case, then applicants’ concerns about being stereotyped and undervalued are decreased significantly.
Since treating everyone with genuine respect – including those who are different from us – is a fundamental practice of Respectful Leadership™, it only makes sense that the research findings around the “fairness case” for DE&I will also hold true for companies who are only focused on the business case for respect.
This means that if being respectful is the right thing to do, which most people believe to be true (or at least they say they do), then there’s really no need to hammer home and trumpet the business case for respect as much as we have been. And if companies simply come out and say, “we believe being respectful is the right thing to do,” then it only makes sense that their employees are more likely to consider respect a core value, and treat each other, customers, vendors and the environment with more of it. That companies that do this will meet and exceed their business goals as a result is icing on the proverbial cake.
Still, I understand why the cynical C-Suite wants to see the business case for respect, and we should keep providing it. But I’m now convinced that we should also increase our emphasis on the moral and fairness aspects of respect and Respectful Leadership™ since it is, without question, the right thing to do.
So, everyone, once again, with feeling: treating others with respect is the right thing to do, period.
