Leaders Model Respect (Ep. 30)

Episode 30: Leaders Model Respect

 

1. Leaders Listen to Others

We as leaders must remember that everyone on the team has talents that are unique.

If you were to write down a list of all of your people and their unique talents, meaning the talents that they have that others do not, what would those be?

QUESTION: Do you tap into that talent?

A good leader uses the talents of those around her, and more than that, seeks the counsel of people that have the talents that they do not. 

Go to those on your team who have unique talents and ask them for their council. This in practice, is an act of respect. 

If you are not a good listener then you have no chance of being a good leader.  

You need to be better at listening, asking questions, and listening for the message behind the message that your employees are conveying.  

Asking questions to everybody on the team, at all levels, encourages employees who would otherwise keep their mouths shut, to tell you their good ideas. Asking questions also encourages people at all levels to raise important issues that you as the leader might not be aware of.  This gives you more opportunity to clarify what your goals and outcomes are, and allows you to keep people focused on the mission.

 

2. Leaders Give Credit to Others

If you are not the kind of person who gives compliments to people, this one is going to be really important for you. 

“If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” Paul Bear Bryant

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

• When something goes bad, do you jump to the illogical conclusion that there is no way that you could have done something wrong? 
• When something goes semi-right, do you share in the victories and losses? 
• When things go right, do you do your best to give all of the credit to others? 

 

3. Leaders Value Opposing Viewpoints

If you do not welcome opposing viewpoints on your team, you are going to set yourself up for a very lonely road of leadership.  

If you refuse to take the ideas of other people, they are soon going to stop giving you their ideas. 

If you find yourself taking action on more of your ideas than the ideas of people on your team, you are probably not moving in the right direction.

The reason why opposing viewpoints are so important is that it sparks discussion.

 

MO’s Final Thoughts:

Leadership really is about respect.  In fact, if you want to get a good understanding and a clear and concise understanding of how important it is, look no further than John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership chapter 7… “The Law of Respect.”  When you start from the premise that you are going to both respect the people that you lead, and give them a reason to respect you, it creates something pretty cool.  Without respect, your team will fall apart.  People don’t want to follow others that they do not respect. Practice respect, and it will raise your leadership lid.

 

Amazon Book Links:

Team of Rivals, Doris Goodwin - https://amzn.to/39USxO6

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell - https://amzn.to/2O4tr6Q

 

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