As an employee retention speaker, I tell my audiences respect is one area a leader has total control over. Your boss may be a jerk or you may work in an organization that doesn’t value people at the level it should. That doesn’t mean that you have to be like that. It certainly makes it tougher, if the organization is not in sync with you, but it’s not an obstacle that can’t be dealt with.
Respect is so basic to any relationship among people that I shouldn’t even have to write on the topic. As an employee retention expert and former HR leader, I notice we talk about it more today but give less of it to people than we did in the past. One major area that I see as an employee retention trainer that we have fallen down is the use of common courtesy. Basic respect starts with the simple courtesies of everyday life. Please. Thank you. You’re welcome. Respect is about character and class. Look at the people YOU respect. In 99% of the cases you see that person as having character and being a class act when they are courteous. You may not like them but you will… albeit grudgingly…respect them.
Even if someone is not the greatest leader in other ways, if they observe the common courtesies society seems to have moved away from we tend to respect them more and view them as a class act. So, as a leader, if you want a great starting point to your employee retention strategies and to having your people respect you, show them some common courtesy and say “thank you” once in a while. By the way… “thanks” to all the people who read my posts. Drop me a message and let me know what you think.
