Choose Civility is a Countywide initiative convened by Leadership Montgomery that involves multiple partners working together to enhance the quality of life and emphasize the importance of civility for all who live and work in Montgomery County. The Choose Civility project includes a series of events with a goal of enhancing respect, empathy, consideration and tolerance in the County and making it a model of civility for the region and the country. The intent is to inspire residents of our County to make choices that will result in improved mental, physical, and spiritual health, as well as the overall quality of life. What is Civility? The How When It Comes to Building Relationships Contributed by Adventist HealthCare, Inc. and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Individuals who have high relational skills are more successful personally and professionally. The meaningful presence of others in our lives helps us remain healthy – both physically and mentally. Thus, civility is preventive medicine. Research shows that strong personal relationships are the biggest factor toward a more satisfying life. As social beings, our happiness or unhappiness depends, to a large extent, upon the quality of our relationships. Civility is the sum of the many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake of living together. It allows us to connect with others and has to do with courtesy, politeness, and good manners. Civility is gracious goodness, according to Dr. Forni, co-founder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project and author of Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct. Being civil means being constantly aware of others and weaving restraint, respect, and consideration into the very fabric of this awareness. The rules of considerate conduct include: pay attention, acknowledge others, think the best, listen, be inclusive, speak kindly, apologize earnestly, refrain from idle complaints, assert yourself, and care for your guests. Other rules are: accept and give praise; respect others’ opinions, time, and space; accept and give constructive criticism; respect the environment and be gentle to animals; mind your body; and respect even a subtle “no.” Developing and nurturing personal relationships can help lower your stress level. Social support lowers blood pressure and signals the adrenal glands to stop pumping out corticosteroids. Also, those with a supportive network enjoy better cognitive functioning. Social isolation is comparable to cigarette smoking and other major biomedical and psychosocial risk factors. Ways to Build a Kinder Workplace ▪ Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Promise only what you can deliver. ▪ Be less inclined to give advice and more inclined to seek it. ▪ Resist the urge to jump to conclusions about people and their motives. ▪ Identify the biggest redeeming quality of a person with whom you have trouble interacting. ▪ Give sincere appreciation with feedback, recognition, and respect. ▪ When things go wrong, resist the urge to assign blame. ▪ Don’t wait for kindness to come your way. Give a gift for no reason. ▪ Show interest in someone else’s interests and widen your social circle. ▪ Involve more people in weighing options and making decisions. ▪ Don’t make judgments about people and don’t spread rumors. Keys to Civility in a Community ▪ Trust – The foundation of any community is the quality of its relationships and levels of trust between people and across its institutions. ▪ Process – A natural progression of activities, which is marked by gradual change that leads to a goal or growth. ▪ People – Dedicated to the celebration of communities of people making great strides in the area of comprehensive community improvement. ▪ Dialogue – Members of the community can share their individual hopes and dreams, allowing the commonality of these hopes and dreams to create a common sense of purpose. To become a partner or to find out more, contact Esther Newman at Leadership Montgomery. Phone: (301) 881-3333