Women Who Rock with Success- Women of Color

So we should make sure not to mimic what we see in the public realm in the workplace.
You?re not on Million Dollar Listing, ? said Dattner.
Never say phrases t hat disrespect colleagues and low er-level
em ployees.
You know not to call people something sexist like ?Hon,? or ?Beautiful,? at work. But,
some people of an older generation or baby- boomer might have referred to female
colleagues as ?girls,? without meaning anything negative by it, and in their cultural and
historical context that made sense, said Dattner. But, if you?re at a start-up in Brooklyn or
San Francisco where everybody?s a millennial and you use the term ?girls? to refer to
female employees, people may find that offensive, Dattner said. ?We all need feedback
as we move from industry to industry or level to level or organization or organization or
historical era to historical era or different geographies, different countries, different
corporate cultures,? he said. How you speak and communicate may change in different
workplace environments, so make sure you?re careful in different settings with colloquial
phrases.
Never com plain t o your int ern about st aff and direct report s.
Don?t whine to your intern about other employees, advised Sackett. ?Good interns/
assistants are good listeners, and at times, they may be the only person that makes a
boss feel heard. This can create the temptation to use them as a sounding board for
venting about others in the office, and that temptation must be resisted,? Sackett said.
?Not only can they leak sensitive information, potentially leading to conflicts and
grievances, but this practice also puts the intern or assistant in a terribly uncomfortable
position, often causing good employees to leave.?
Never t ell HR anyt hing t hat you w ant t o be kept in st rict confidence.
?That?s because HR professionals often have mandates to report or investigate certain
information (like sexual harassment and discrimination),? says Jason Sackett, PCC, LCSW,
CEAP, executive coach, author of Compassion@Work: Creating Workplaces that Engage the
Human Spirit. ?They simply may not be prohibited from sharing information with the one
person you desperately don?t want to know your story?and may not have the judgment
or professionalism to keep it private,? he said. If you have any concerns about
information being disclosed, consult first with someone who is bound by confidentiality
laws, such as a therapist, employee assistance professional, lawyer, or clergy person,?
said Sackett.