I have a theory that great leaders share the ability to praise and show respect to their people without feeling threatened. My experiences playing and coaching football helped me develop this theory. The coaches that got the most out of their players were the ones that had a mutual respect with the players, which they managed to express while still demanding performance and effort from the players and themselves. How was this possible? They understood and acknowledged the effort required to succeed, and they respected their players unconditionally. The mutual trust that came from this relationship served as the building block for the players to buy into the coaches’ systems.
Can this strategy work in today’s new-millennium work place? Yes! Now more than ever, young people want structure with discipline and, most importantly, respect and recognition. If you clearly state what you need from them while respecting and acknowledging their efforts and challenging them to do still more, I bet you will be shocked at the advances they will make and the loyalty they will show.
A lot of people say that today’s kids have giant egos, much too big to be realistic out in the big, bad world. I don’t necessarily think that’s true. I think they just want to be respected, and because they haven’t had a lot of chances to demonstrate their skills like the veterans in the industry, people sometimes assume they are demanding respect before they’ve earned it. I’m all about earning respect for your work, but all of us crave and deserve basic human respect from the bottom rung of the career ladder all the way up to the top. Practicing this strategy of showing respect to your employees, even the ones who are new, will almost certainly get you better results from your people.
I know it can work because I’ve seen it accomplish amazing results with the stars in my industry, some of whom – earned or not – have huge egos. Trying to get more than one of them to read from the same page is said to be like trying to herd cats. The manager who was the best I’ve ever seen at meeting this challenge was a former broker who stated often to the stars that he could never do what they do and showed loyalty and respect to his core group in good times and bad. Too many managers approach their employees with a desire to control and bring them down – it’s a refreshing change for most employees to hear a manager acknowledging their skills. As a result of his respectful approach this excellent manager has kept his stars for a long time, with very few defections, because they know they will always be shown respect in how they are treated and the manager will always have their back even in the lean times.
If you are a manger contemplating this approach remember this: it is not about you; it’s about them. In order to be successful you must keep your own ego in check and show your people respect.
Have a great weekend,
Ro