Gaining Respect

In the past, respect came with the title. Managers were respected because they were managers. Today, employees have clear expectations of what they want from their leader. And, if they get what they need, they’ll respect you. If they don’t get what they expect, they can make your life as a leader difficult.

Employees respect leaders who give them more information than they need, rather than less. Giving employees only the information you think they need, deprives them of the opportunity to contribute.

Always have the guts to hold everyone accountable. One of the fastest ways to destroy morale and the employee’s will to do more is to allow the slackers to slack. Those managers who allow poor performers to continue in their ways face the impacts, not only from the poor performers, but from those who perform at the highest levels. Who wants to work hard when a colleague slacks off and gets the same or similar rewards?

I remember working with a company whose manager did not know what we do. When asked, they said, "Their job is simple. How hard can that be?" In reality, the manager had never done the job. He had no idea what kinds of complaints the staff heard everyday. He had not experienced an eight-hour shift standing behind a counter. He had not experienced the rush of a brief 30-minute lunch period. He lived in a different world and the staffs did not respect him.

In today’s complex world, we have to recognize that employees have a life outside of work. And, in some cases, this life presents difficult challenges. The manager must keep the goals of work clearly in mind however, he must be flexible enough to help staffs through rough times.

All of us want to be respected. We want people to believe what we say and to trust us.