11 REASONS WHY MINIMIZING OR IGNORING SENSITIVITY IS YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKE

Not long ago, being considered sensitive at work was considered weak.

I'm willing to bet that some of you may have whispers of those biases still unchecked in your subconscious. If you’re unsure, think back to when you saw someone upset at your workplace…what was your first reaction? Did you jump to judgment and criticism? Did you want to know more? Did you want to tell others? Your responses aren’t right or wrong per se, but they offer an opportunity for self-reflection and growth – and not just for your personal growth, but for your organization's.

Like it or not, tapping into sensitivity is big business and significantly impacts your bottom line.

Let me illustrate this point with the obvious first... 

11. Without sensitivity, your employee morale and levels of trust are low and cause project overruns and misunderstandings that lead to poor decision-making and eventually erode teams.

10. Creativity, innovation and success live in the land of failure. Collaboration, vulnerability, and critical thinking are impossible without fostering sensitivity since every high-performing team needs diversity (in thought) and psychological safety.

9. Employees who don’t feel seen or heard get quiet (quiet-quitters) and leave after their complacency and negativity have eroded their team. All this leads to high turnover rates, which, I don’t have to remind you, costs organizations BILLIONS in productivity per year.

8. Fostering an organization of insensitive workers is a recipe for discrimination and harassment, which almost always results in costly legal and reputational damages.

7. Lacking sensitivity also limits your market potential since failing to connect with a broader, global customer base is necessary in today’s competitive economy.

6. Insensitivity is at the bottom of most poor communications, misunderstandings and conflicts internally and externally – again, hindering the productivity and progress of your organization’s goals. 

5. A culture that dismisses sensitivity can become toxic and exclusionary. This can negatively impact your employer branding, drive away potential talent and make it difficult to attract top performers.

4. Your ability to respond and shift to societal and cultural norms and perspectives and norms is critical to maintaining a competitive edge. Being sensitive and respectful of others’ differences and perspectives isn’t just good for business. It’s just good.

3. Leaders who ignore sensitivity struggle to connect with, inspire and mobilize their teams. Being an effective leader requires an understanding of and responsiveness to the needs and concerns of others.

2. A lack of sensitivity can lead to biased decision-making, as it may not consider the full spectrum of perspectives and experiences. This results in suboptimal decisions for your organization.

And finally and most importantly…

1. If you’re not training yourself to be sensitive to and recognize your emotions, they will direct your subconscious, and your impulses will lead you to make decisions based on your feelings.

There’s no shame in being sensitive. You need to be.

Valuing sensitivity is essential for creating a healthy, inclusive, high-performance organization. It contributes to stronger relationships, better decision-making, and longevity for the organization.

So, how can you dial up your sensitivity at work? Grab your 1-page how-to here. Ready to dig deeper?

Schedule a call. Let’s talk.