You’ve landed that coveted leadership role and now as a manager, it is your responsibility to motivate your team members. You are to guide them and be their inspiration for hard work. Before you can do this, you must first earn their respect. Read more to find out what qualities you can adopt to earn respect as a manager.
Lead by example
As the manager, you are the person they turn to for motivation. Although you may not realize it, your employees are looking at you to see how you treat your work. If team members see that you are not working as hard as they are, they will build resentment and believe that they too do not need to work as hard.
On the other hand, if you are constantly working through lunch and staying late, they may feel inadequate and have low morale at the work place. Think about what you expect from your team members. Instead of simply explaining this to them verbally, lead by example and show them how they should be working.
Be available and open
Your employees also have great ideas that they may like to share with you. Implementation of such ideas will not take place unless they feel comfortable enough to approach you. An “open door” policy in which you keep your office door ajar during work is not enough.
Think about the message you are communicating to your employees when you interact with them. Do you respect their opinions and encourage them to come discuss with you regarding any matter? Or instead do you shoot down their ideas, claiming that yours is superior? Be open to suggestions and feedback from your employees and they will share what they had in mind for that upcoming project.
Listen
Diversity of ideas is valuable in a work place. You should appreciate differences in thoughts rather than wanting everyone to blindly agreeing with you. Once you are available to your employees, learn to listen to what they have to say.
When employees feel that they are being heard, they will respect you as a leader. Don’t forget it is also your job as a leader to morph smaller ideas into bigger ones for the benefit of your company.
Be direct
When you need to address your employees, be direct. Don’t expect them to understand the subtle hints you drop or to read your mind. Be firm and fair about what exactly you expect from them and be consistent. Forgetting what you had said previously and changing your mind will not earn you respect.
When there is an issue you must discuss, do so privately and respectfully. Set aside a time to discuss any criticism. Don’t avoid confrontation and be honest with them. Showing that you are upfront will gain you respect.
Set high standards
Knowing that you believe in them will also gain respect from your team. If you set achievable high standards, you are showing that you think that they are capable. However, don’t just pile work on them. Guide them and help them achieve the tasks you set out to them and they will see your support. Once you make them successful, you will also succeed as a manager.
Appreciate your team members
Have you thanked your employees recently? Just because this is their job, does not mean that they don’t deserve appreciation. Compliment them on their work performance and hard work. Be genuine about what you say and recognize them for something specific that they worked on in the past week. Appreciation can go a long way in motivating employees and earning respect.
What have you done in the past as a manager that’s earned you respect?
