Earning the Respect of Others

It is essential for a leader to have the respect of his or her followers. Respect is the key ingredient in the effectiveness of a leader. The leader whose followers respect him will go beyond the call to accomplish whatever they need to accomplish to get the job done.

Most people equate being respected with being liked. Often the two are not related. It is good to be liked but you must first be respected. A leader can also be liked but not respected as a leader. Typically this is the type of leader who will not enforce standards but will allow his followers to follow their own whims.

There is a degree of respect which comes with holding a position of power because your subordinates know that you have the authority to enforce the organizations code but they also know that there were other qualifications that the leader had to meet in order to be placed in that position of authority. For example in the military the Sergeant has a certain amount of respect because of his or her age and/or experience. The troop knows that that person was not just handed the rank of Sergeant but that they had to earn it through various activities. The Sergeant may add to this respect or lose it depending on the course of action that they take with their subordinates.

There are two ways to earn respect. You can do so through fear or through admiration. The leader who earns respect through fear may be effective at getting the job done but their leadership is vicarious at best. A good leader has gained the respect of his followers by gaining their admiration. In order to gain their admiration a leader has to fulfill the example of what the followers expect the good leader to be. I believe in the saying that in order to gain respect you must first be willing to give it. Followers will admire a leader who will get down and dirty with them if he has to. There is a fine line here because the leader who stays down and dirty with them will lose that same respect. The respected leader must be a people person but at the same time must be able to maintain a certain aloofness. The leader who wants the admiration of his followers must know how to be kind but yet forceful at the same time.

If you have a good sense of self esteem you will garner respect from others. People will follow a leader who is confident in his or her own abilities. People need to have a sense of security when they are around their leader. They need to view their leader as confident and able. If they see you this way they will respond to your leadership. If they don’t they will challenge it.

People also tend to scrutinize the lives of their leaders. None of us are Superman but followers will expect you to be. The leader who lives the life without putting himself on a pedestal will be respected all the more by his followers.

It is good to be open to suggestions but remember that you are the leader. Don’t get into a habit of conceding to others. Some people are masters at winning small concessions from their leaders. The small concessions will eventually become larger and larger if they are left unchecked. Don’t allow any of your followers to push you into a pattern of giving in to them. If you do so you will find yourself being disregarded and disrespected.

The good leader will always keep his eyes open to the situation around him. Riceland Enterprises