Demonstrates a commitment to promoting respectful behaviors in the workplace and building a professional environment where staff are valued and feel safe to be productive, communicate constructively, and work collaboratively with others.
Key Behaviors
- Encourages, and provides a safe environment for, input from diverse perspectives to promote positive intent and collaboration.
- Considers an individual’s diverse perspectives and capabilities.
- Demonstrates respect, open communication, positive intent, and collaboration.
- Facilitates mutual support, feedback, collaboration, flexibility, and understanding in work efforts.
- Uses respectful, supportive, and encouraging language with staff in any situation.
- Regularly engages in active listening to foster understanding, open-mindedness, and psychological safety in the workplace. (Psychological Safety means creating an environment where it feels okay to take risks, express ideas and concerns, speak up with questions, and admit mistakes without fear of punitive response.)
- Seeks and promotes professional development opportunities to learn about civility in the workplace.
- Intervenes in situations where there is bullying, harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or disrespect, with the knowledge that there are NIH-wide protections against retaliation. (Speaks up or acts on behalf of others by disrupting or distracting uncivil behavior, enlisting others for help, or assisting the target after the uncivil interaction ends; Promptly reports any alleged misconduct as it relates to any civility-related matter.)
Developmental opportunities for this competency are available from the NIH Training Center.