Leadership is Earning the Respect and Trust of Our People

To be a highly effective leader, we want to strive to earn and maintain the respect and trust of our people, certainly our team members and ideally all our colleagues.

When we have the respect of our team members, they will do their best for the company and the team.

Over the past few weeks I have heard disturbing reports about managers in five conversations. The shame of it is that the five managers being referenced are good people with good hearts. Yet, for one reason or another, they are disappointing their people and are no longer held in high regard. It must be their failure to understand their duty to their team members and or their lack of discipline in managing their time and attention.

Here are the messages from these conversations.

A very capable business person shared how unhappy he is and that he intends to look outside his company for a new job. While he likes his manager personally, he has been frustrated for several years now as his manager does not follow through on what he says he will do. It’s been discussed numerous times. His manager always says, “You’re absolutely right. Thank you for telling me. I’ll change. I’ll follow through.” And he does not. As one example, for several years now, he has promised salary increases. He has not come through, without explanation. There are other disappointments. He likely is conflict avoidant. In avoiding difficult conversations, problems continue.

Continuing to face the same problem(s) is a sure cause of stress.

To earn and maintain trust, it is important that we do what we say we will, and that we are honest and upfront.

In two other conversations, people have shared their disappointment in their senior managers who seldom respond in a timely manner. The irony is these senior managers tell everyone that they want their people to come to them with their ideas when there is a business development opportunity, an idea to improve service to clients and or a problem.

The lack of responsiveness from the managers leads to frustration as the people feel under appreciated and have to follow up again and again.

I know they are not at all under appreciated, just the opposite. As managers, we need to manage our time, including prioritizing our communication and responsiveness to our people. They are our internal clients!

Even a short email or text with, “I’ll be back to you later today or in the morning” acknowledges their inquiry. No response is unacceptable.

Developing the discipline of managing our time to include timely responsiveness to our people is essential if we want their respect and trust, which is critical for the effectiveness of our leadership.

Another conversation was about a manager, again a good hearted person, who repeatedly fails to follow up. He seldom asks his team members how projects and other work are going. It’s like he has forgotten about them. They feel taken for granted.

In similar regard, just two days ago a top notch consultant whom I hold in high regard as she is intelligent, energetic, all about helping others with their success and wellbeing, told me she has lost faith in her manager and is losing faith in her company. Her manager continues to find fault in her. He virtually never has nice things to say. All the feedback she receives is critical.

She has had conversations with him in which he assured her that he is there to support, encourage and help each team member. Yet, his negativity continues. As we discussed her situation, it seems the good work of his team members triggers the insecurity about his own contributions.  His criticism towards his people may stem from his fears (even subconsciously) to see others succeed and receive attention.

In these situations, I know four of the five managers have been told about their failure to respond, follow through and follow up. They do intend to change, to improve, yet they have not made ample progress. If this continues, the consequences of not having the respect and trust of their team members will be lesser team performance and turnover.

It is certainly very frustrating and disheartening for the people on these managers’ teams. It is simply not fair. These people are hard working, dedicated, want to do a good job for their clients and companies and have family responsibilities and are being disappointed by their managers.

I know, it’s a huge challenge to manage our time and energy in today’s hyper busy business world, yet as a leader, we must learn to do so. There are coaches, books, articles to help, as will asking our colleagues for their honest feedback and feed forward.

Let’s all make earning and maintaining the respect and trust of our people a top priority. Let’s ask our people to help us, to give us timely and honest feedback, to let us know when we are giving them what they need and when we fail to do so, and for their ideas for us going forward. Let’s remember, our asking for help and ideas is a sign of strength.

Again, as leaders, our team members are our internal clients!