A CEO I know shared that he keeps in touch with all the people he has had to let go for at least one year after they leave. He asks that all his managers do the same. Why? Because he wants to treat people with dignity. His thinking is that just because a person didn’t work out doesn’t mean that they should not be treated well.
He wants to show that he cares, not just say that he cares.
I have never heard of anyone doing this and I find it inspiring. I think is a great example of valuing dignity.
Dignity can be expressed in many ways.
We can show compassion to people having a hard time. So many people have children and family members that need extra care and attention outside of work.
We can tell the truth to people without sugar-coating it. People can handle tough news, but do not tolerate feeling like they are being manipulated, well.
We can even express dignity by being nice to ourselves and not holding ourselves to impossible standards. Maybe you don’t need to be at every meeting or fly around the world just to share information.
The golden rule says we should treat others the way we want to be treated. However, it only works if we want to be treated with dignity and believe that others should be as well.
Don’t over-complicate leadership. To a large extent, it is being a good person who is focused on good things and treating people well along the way.
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