To foster collaboration in any workplace, it is critical to recognize that not every person celebrates the same holidays and even if two people do celebrate the same holiday it is done often in different ways.

What might you do to show that you truly care to understand another person’s point of view, and to have the authentic curiosity to learn more about how their point of view came about?

On holidays of any nation, and every day, let’s be grateful that we can choose what to believe and how to BE.

As we share holidays together, we can celebrate that all human beings are connected, that we all have something and someone to be thankful for, and that we are grateful to be stepping forward into another day together.

You can’t change a person. And you should not want to pressure or shame them into changing their core beliefs. In the work place, behaviors and habits (which are driven by beliefs) need to align with the core values and principles of the organization.

You can’t change history, but most if not all of the individuals in your workplace have evolved from that past; they are significantly different than their ancestors.

What you can do is change the context. You can structure your organization and create a social context within it that supports collaboration. You can create a workplace where each person celebrates each person. And you can support a culture of respect for each others’ points of view, including the often conflicting views about the commercial, historical or religious ties to that day.

On holidays of any nation, and every day, let’s be grateful that we can choose what to believe and how to BE.