“Respect is like air. As long
as it’s present, nobody thinks about it. But if you take it away, it’s all that
people can think about.”
“Crucial Conversations” by Ron McMillan
In research of nearly 20,000 employees worldwide conducted by
Christine Porath, respondents ranked respect as the most important leadership
behavior. Yet many surveys also report
that over half of employees claim that they don’t regularly get respect. What’s the disconnect? One answer may be that leaders may simply be
unaware of the problem. While those
employees who aren’t shown respect are keenly aware of its absence, others,
especially those in managerial or other high-status jobs don’t think about it
very much. But there are other issues to consider.
Respect
and Recognition Go hand-in-hand
Do leaders have a good understanding of what constitutes
workplace respect? If not, even
well-meaning efforts to provide a respectful workplace may fall short. With the ‘PC” nature of today’s culture, it’s
hard to imagine a workplace where respect isn’t accorded equally to all members
of a work group or the organization; it meets the universal need to make them
all feel included. It should be standard practice. We have no doubt that management consistently
affirms that respect is owed to all personnel.
But when employees display valued qualities or behaviors that exceed
expectations they are not just owed standard respect they have earned the
respect that should be confirmed with recognition, and at times formal
recognition.
In fact some research by Arizona State shows…
“When
the standard owed respect and earned respect is not in balance it can create
frustration for workers. Workplaces with lots of owed respect but little earned
respect can make individual achievement a low priority for employees, because
they perceive that everyone will be treated the same regardless of performance.
By contrast, workplaces with low owed respect but high earned respect can
encourage excessive competition among employees…possibly good for some
environments (sales force) but can hinder people from sharing critical
knowledge about their successes and failures, and it often promotes cutthroat,
zero-sum behavior”
Respect in any organization is important because it is a great feedback
mechanism and provides the building blocks for growth. So too, recognizing the respect earned
through achievement helps to solidify that respect in the organization. This
will bring tremendous benefits to the company.
It is no secret that employees who say they feel respected are more
satisfied with their jobs and more grateful for—and loyal to—their companies.
For
more information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white
papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net
