Many of us were raised with the “Golden Rule.” The ideal was to treat others the way you want to be treated. The Golden Rule was applicable when we all lived in close-knit groups and shared the same lived experiences, religions, education, world view, etc. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach to ethics and empathy.
But in our increasingly diverse and complex world, our interactions are not just with people who are like us but with a far more culturally diverse workplace and marketplace. In fact, treating people the way we want to be treated can cause mistrust and misunderstanding.
It is time that we exchange the Golden Rule for the Platinum Rule, where the ideal is to treat others as they wish to be treated.
SELF-CENTRIC VS. OTHER-CENTRIC
The main difference between the two rules is that the Golden Rule is self-centric, while the Platinum Rule is other-centric. The Platinum Rule recognizes that not everyone wants to be or should be treated the same way. The Platinum Rule appreciates the unique characteristics and backgrounds of those with whom we interact. This requires people to be more self-aware, knowing how they would want to be treated, and then takes into account how others may want to be treated.
The Golden Rule often is seen as being dogmatic and ethnocentric. One does not need to be an expert on all the dimensions of diversity (see “Dimensions of Diversity” at http://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=88853&p=68). Simply asking how others would prefer to be treated is often enough to engender greater understanding and trust.
INWARD VS. OUTWARD FOCUS
The need to focus on the Platinum Rule is more essential than ever. Partly due to COVID-19, we increasingly are working and living in silent isolation. Even when we are with others, we are looking down at our mobile phones. Our world view has turned inward. The revolution in social media and artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on our view of ourselves— what’s important in our lives, and our social, political, and cultural goals and values. We have turned insular, wanting to work from home, under pressure to turn to our social media and into the comfort of our cocoons full of intoxicating self-gratification, where we see and hear what we and the unseen forces of algorithms define for us.
The workplace also has become more inward. During the second quarter of 2024, only 31 percent of workers worked full-time in the office, according to The Flex Index based on 6,000 U.S. corporations.
Working from home is just one part of our turn inward. More students are studying from home. In fact, the number of students studying overseas is so low that it is considered a critical national deficiency in our understanding of other cultures. Studying and living overseas has been a key success factor for those wishing to succeed in the global workplace and marketplace. The Mormon Church’s global success largely is based on sending young missionaries overseas to live within other cultures. A disproportionate number of successful U.S. business executives have had such experiences.
For our organizations to succeed, there is a need to practice authentic empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others from their point of view, not ours.
PLATINUM RULE WORK APPLICATIONS
- Showing praise: Some like to be praised in public, while others prefer to be praised in private. This is both an individual psychological preference and one defined by cultural norms. Americans and those who are extroverts are more inclined to prefer public recognition such as “Employee of the Week,” while introverts and Japanese are more inclined to prefer praise in private. “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down” is a phrase still commonly heard in Japan. If I praise a Japanese student in public—the way I would prefer—that student may be embarrassed, and their Japanese peers may not wish to cooperate with them because they called attention to themselves.
- Product design: A bandage manufacturer only produced bandages appropriate for light-skinned customers since it could not imagine any other need. The manufacturer did not realize that darkerskinned clients would prefer darker bandages.
PLATINUM RULE CHALLENGES
There are challenges when it comes to applying the Platinum Rule at work. It requires more effort to understand everyone’s preferences. It can be challenging to implement the Platinum Rule consistently in large or diverse organizations. And there is the potential for misinterpretation if individual preferences are not clearly communicated.
PLATINUM RULE BENEFITS
The advantages of applying the Platinum Rule at work are many and include a deeper understanding and respect for diversity; a greater focus on interactions to meet individual needs; improving satisfaction and effectiveness; and fostering greater inclusivity and feelings of belonging.
Instructors, coaches, leaders, and citizens who apply the Platinum Rule will promote greater understanding and a more respectful and inclusive work environment and community.
Please send any questions, comments, and case studies regarding applying the Platinum Rule at work to me at: neal@nealgoodmangroup.com