Faced with difficult dilemmas and rising political division, it’s important that CEOs create strong, united teams. Here are four approaches to reducing polarization within workforces:
1. Listen to your employees to understand the range of their values and backgrounds. Using roundtables and surveys will help foster open communication between employees and allow leaders to understand common concerns.
2. Create common ground that allows for mutual interactions, centering these interactions in apolitical interests. By facilitating connections between employees, you can build a united team that can work together respectfully despite differences.
3. Create a designated time and space for open-forum discussion. Engaging in healthy and respectful discussion allows staff to air their opinions in a safe and facilitated environment.
4. Clearly communicate a consistent company philosophy to staff to reduce confusion. Explicitly outline company values, especially regarding engagement on controversial issues. Importantly, remain consistent across these values to minimize anger and disappointment among the workforce.
