At the heart of civility is respect. Respect and dignity are essential for psychological safety, especially when others have diverse experiences and viewpoints. Civility is not about complacency or placating. It’s not about denying or pushing away strong feelings that can emerge when conflict emerges. It’s about temporarily suspending our alarm bells for a period of time so we can do the hard work of “climbing the empathy wall” to better understand the deep stories behind those we see as “the other.”
Thank you Sally Spencer-Thomas for the opportunity to share my story and insights with you and your listeners on the Hope Illuminated Podcast. Listen here ⤵︎
Love how you describe focusing on the behavior (or what exactly was said) and the impact on “me”. We don’t know intent of another person. All we know is how it lands.