As a leader, one of your most valuable assets is the respect of the people you are leading. If a leader is respected, people will follow him or her almost anywhere. If a leader loses the respect from the ones he or she leads, it becomes very difficult to regain that respect.
Often a new leader is given respect because of his or her position as a leader, but respect can be quickly lost due to performance. Many times, it’s the seemingly small things that cause the most damage to a leader’s reputation.
I have found that a few simple (some not so simple) acts help protect the respect a leader enjoys:
- Return phone calls and e-mails promptly…
- Do what you say you will do…
- Act with integrity…
- Use fairness in your approach…not too harsh…not too soft…
- Show others respect…
- Learn continually and encourage growth in yourself and others…
- Work as hard or harder than others…
Maintaining respect is a matter of acting in a respectable way. How are you doing in that area? (You may want to ask the ones you are supposed to be leading…Read how I do that each year HERE.)
What would you add to my list?
