Leadership tools for solving the talent shortage: Balance civility and diversity

By Karl Ahlrichs

Our goal is to solve the talent shortage while working in the pressure cooker of organizational life. Now that we have built a workforce, we need to keep it. We need to be authentic and transparent with each other, which brings me to the issue of civility.

I was raised in a polite family—aware of others’ needs and feelings, diplomatic, civil. Sometimes maybe too much so. We all benefit from everyone being more civil, but only up to a point.

Civility and diversity

As a SHRM member and a presenter at HR conferences, I see civility as promoting respectful and considerate behavior in the workplace. It means fostering a positive work environment with behaviors reinforcing employee engagement and organizational success. As a civil person, I applaud all of that.

This push for civility is the logical evolution of diversity efforts, which adjust and adapt to a changing world. Diversity keeps shapeshifting. It started decades ago with a simple word: diversity. Then more parts and pieces were added: inclusion, then equity, then belonging and now back to inclusion and diversity.

Whatever the initials, the rise of civility is a critical supporting element. Remember these two definitions:

• Inclusion and diversity. These focus on creating an equitable workplace where everyone feels included.
• Civility. This is crucial in ensuring that the environment is respectful and considerate. Both are important.

Where do they overlap?

Civility encourages respectful communication and behavior, helping treat everyone equitably. It fosters trust, which is essential for a successful diversity strategy. When people feel respected, they engage positively with each other.

Civility makes employees more likely to interact respectfully. It helps prevent microaggressions that undermine diversity efforts. It helps employees feel safe to express themselves and contribute, aligned to make everyone feel respected.

Simply put, civility improves the chances that inclusion and diversity initiatives are effective and sustainable. However, I have worked in HR long enough to learn that any effort made by one employee will irritate another. There are two sides to any coin; civility can produce unintended results.

The upsetting flipside

Politeness can mask issues. Too much civility can prioritize politeness over confronting “the elephant in the room” and other substantive concerns. Overly polite employees avoid uncomfortable topics, such as systemic inequalities or policy changes, out of fear of offending others.

It’s a force for conformity. Civil communication patterns nurture conformity and suppress dissent. This encourages a single-minded environment where specific perspectives are valued and varying opinions are not, which reduces out-of-the-box innovation and open-minded, critical thinking.

Leaders need honest feedback. Civil individuals are often reluctant to give honest feedback or engage in constructive criticism. This well-intended diplomacy slows personal and professional growth and limits the organization’s ability to address issues effectively.

Leaders need authenticity. Civility often comes at the expense of authenticity. Employees might feel pressured to conform to a standard that feels misaligned with their values, impacting their job satisfaction and engagement.

Be civil but stay balanced

Quoting my mother, “Be nice, but not too nice.” Leadership behaviors are like powerful spices used in cooking—there is a perfect amount; do not go too far. Do it well, but do not go overboard.

What should you do as a leader? Add civility training to professional-development coursework. Offer civility training, but not at the cost of diverting resources away from inclusion issues such as structural inequalities or systemic barriers that affect marginalized groups. This will result in a sustainable workforce that can survive the talent shortage.

Karl Ahlrichs is a national speaker, virtual facilitator and author. He has decades of strategic HR consulting to all industries, using risk management and organizational development theories to bypass “best practices” and move directly to “next practices.”