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November 07, 2019 at 09:53 AM
Last week, I wrote about disrespect toward women in the financial-services industry and what can be done about it. But to have a broader perspective on how to solve all issues of disrespect, we — collectively as an industry — cannot ignore disrespect when it happens to men.
Based on my experience, I have seen disrespect happen to men by both men and women in two major forms.
First, this happens through the twisting of words. This form of disrespect toward men (and women) involves those looking for ways to present themselves in the best possible light and/or garner attention.
They do so by pointing out imperfections of someone else’s words, for instance, and by twisting them out of context. In fact, there is a term for this behavior: spin doctoring.
The easiest way to see “spinning” in business is when it becomes personal. At this point, the calling out of names begins, either publicly or privately.
Personalization does not belong in business, especially since there are many times when we have to make very hard (sometimes painful) professional decisions.
A good rule of thumb is this: If you don’t have the courage to express your issue directly to the face of the person you are talking about, why are you talking about them at all?
Second, we all know that men tend to be competitive. I realize that men competing in business, etc., is not new. Yet, unfortunately, there are some people who tend to be more focused on exposing the flaws of their “competitors” than solving the flaws of their own business and character.
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