"R-E-S-P-E-C-T"

Aretha Franklin said it best - "All I'm asking for is a little respect."  We hear a lot these days about a pervasive culture of disrespect.  Respect is fundamental to leadership - leaders who respect the individuals on their team will gain their respect.  With mutual respect comes mutual accountability - if the members of a group don't respect one another or their leader, how in the world can they hold each other accountable?  With mutual accountability comes collaboration.  With collaboration comes trust.  And teams that trust each other are the teams that are successful.  It all starts with respect.

How do we build respect in our organizations?  Here are a few simple suggestions:

1.  Show that you care.  Leaders who spend their days behind closed doors just don't care.  Leaders should spend time on the front lines of their organization.  Leaders can show they care by learning the names of the members on their team - more importantly, leaders that know the members of their team (knowing who they are as individuals, both professionally and personally) are leaders who truly care about the members of their team.

2.  Actively listen.  Leaders need to listen to the members of their team by giving their full attention (no distractions - put the cell phone down!). 

3.  Provide honest feedback.  Leaders that provide both positive and negative feedback will earn their team members' respect.  Feedback shows that you care.

4.  Say "thank you" often.  Leaders should publicly recognize and thank their team members when they do a good job or have worked hard to complete a job. 

5.  Stay positive.  Pessimism kills motivation, and no one likes to spend time with a "downer."  Leaders who stay optimistic and positive will earn their team's respect.

6.  Be consistent.  Being predictable isn't always a bad thing.  Leaders who stay consistent and apply a universal set of principles are more likely to earn the respect of their team.

7.  Set the standard.  Perhaps the best advice I ever received when I first became a manager was "Never ask someone to do something that you would not be willing to do yourself."  Leaders should set the standard - if you want your team to work hard, you as the leader need to work hard too.  If you want your team to be positive, you as the leader need to be positive too.  If you want your team to have fun, you as the leader need to have fun too.  Leaders need to model the behaviors that they wish to see in their team.

Respect is at the foundation of a team's success.  Unfortunately, we don't see enough of it in today's world.