Krista Tippett is the voice of a social enterprise with a radio show called On Being at the center of its work. Ms. Tippett was speaking at Drake University at the 37th Bucksbaum lecture this week in Des Moines. Her gentle voice brought calmness during a time of doubt to public radio listeners, students, and faculty at Drake University.
A look at the crowd at the 37th #Bucksbaum lecture with @kristatippett pic.twitter.com/f2KCX1nRLu
— Drake University (@DrakeUniversity) November 16, 2016
Delivering a message of hope for the future, Ms. Tippett invited listeners to move beyond the concept of tolerance and consider the concept of hospitality.
In the workplace and other public spaces, there is an apparent division based on how people responded to the election in the United States on November 8, 2016. Could a response to this division actually be hospitality?
In this context, hospitality it is the old fashioned notion of inviting people into our spaces and allowing them to feel safe. That means allowing people to trust us to listen rather than simply defending our positions.
Hospitality is one of the twenty five rules of civility mentioned in P.M. Forni’s book , Choosing Civility. He invites us to care for our guests. Forni says: “Make sure your guests know that you are delighted to spend time with them.”
Given this insight, what does hospitality mean in context of the workplace? We want to hear your thoughts.
The Seeds of Civility is a blog that is created by The Wallace Centers of Iowa. Here we gather tips for leading (and developing emerging leaders) with civility.