Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations,
team building, and goal of giving. This is the seven Minute Leadership
Podcast with your host Paul fella Aldo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the
Seven Minute Leadership Podcast, Episode one fifty four. And today I'm going to
answer some listener mail that I received asking specifically about how to deal with or
what advice do I have on toning down the political rhetoric in the workplace.
So this one's going to be a quick one because I only, you know,
spend a few minutes on this today thinking about this, and so this
is what I came up with. So for me, as a general rule,
it's important to remain politically neutral in the workplace to avoid creating a hostile
or uncomfortable work environment for colleagues of different political leanings. So here are some
tips on how to remain politically neutral in the workplace. And I only have
four of them because when I thought of this, these are like what instantly
just came to mind. So Number one, just avoid discussing politics, right,
you can't offend anyone if you don't talk about politics. Try to avoid
political discussions and focus on work related topics instead. And look, I get
it that two mature individuals could sit and have a political discussion at work and
never raise their voice or change their body language, and probably each of them
could teach each other something. And I support that type of discussion. But
today, of all times in our history, the political landscape is so volatile
and everyone is so hyper sensitive to the topic, it's just best to avoid
it altogether. Number two, don't display political paraphernalia. You should refrain from
wearing political buttons, hats, or shirts to work. I don't know if
you have some kind of a policy for that or not, but you know
it may be something to consider because this can be seen as confrontational and may
make colleagues uncomfortable. Number three, and that is obviously, treat everyone with
respect, regardless of political beliefs. It's important to treat everyone with respect and
professionalism in the workplace. Avoid making assumptions or judgments based on someone's political views,
and you know who they are. If you're dialed in to your people,
you have a feeling of what side of the political river they're on just
from what you hear and see. The bottom line is there's still your employee
regardless of what they believe in who they voted for in number four. And
I think this one's incredibly important for all leaders, and that's stay informed.
You know, while you should avoid the political discussions in the workplace, it's
still important to stay informed about current events and political issues. This can help
you avoid inadvertently offending someone with an insensitive comment or action. It's okay to
be the smartest one in the room when it comes to this topic. If
you want to be, you just don't have to advertise it. Sometimes silence
is your best leadership tool for certain topics. And think of it this way.
If you struggle to get your staff to do the most mundane of tasks
around the office, you're not going to sway them at the ballot box.
So what's the point of even having the discussion to begin with. Remember the
workplace is a professional environment, and it's important to maintain a level of decorum
and respect for all colleagues, regardless of political beliefs. This is the leadership
foundation that every leader needs to subscribe to in order to be successful at leading.
Everyone has value. Everyone deserves your time, attention, respect, and
your focus, even if they may disagree with your political beliefs. This has
been the seven Minute Leadership podcast and I thank you for listening. For more
Paul Fellovlito podcasts, visit Paul fellovledo dot com