Our Prompt Response Shows our Respect

I recently read an insightful article about the difference our responsiveness makes, that is prompt responses versus significantly delayed responses. The author mentioned he was mentored years ago that it is a matter of courtesy to respond in a timely manner. Of course, in today’s hyper-busy world, it is not easy due to so many meetings, endless emails, calls, and texts.

It is easy to make excuses, and it can be inconvenient, yet the fact is our responsiveness matters greatly.

In our work in the corporate, nonprofit and religious fields, we often learn how much people appreciate their manager or others who respond quickly. They feel valued, that they and their work matters.

Of course, the opposite is true, as well. Many have lamented that they do not feel their manager appreciates them as they often have to follow up, frequently numerous times. Over time, this erodes morale and adversely affects efficiency and the quality of work.

This is such an important topic. It may be difficult and challenging to respond when we receive messages. That is understandable with the demands on our time and attention. Yet, whatever our field, we are in a people business, and what is more important than our attention to our people – if we take good care of our people, they will take good care of our clients.

There is no universal solution to how we each can have the discipline to respond when people reach out to us. Each of us have different circumstances and levels of support. We have to determine ourselves how we will do it. If we understand the importance of our timely responsiveness, just how very much it matters, and resolve to make this our ongoing priority, we can certainly make significant progress in doing so.

Just as a short conversation is better than no conversation, the same is true with our responses. It is generally okay to send a message such as “Tied up now, will be back to you later today or in the morning.” That indicates that we care. No response does not indicate that we do.

Let’s realize that responsiveness is absolutely critical for creating better relationships, trust, and rapport with our people……..and that happy people do better work.

There are resources, e.g., books, videos, and coaches, to help us customize an action plan.

Our responsiveness reflects our character values, particularly our humility, desire to be a servant leader, to treat others with our respect and with dignity, and our caring for how we help others feel about themselves and for their success and wellbeing.

Let us commit to the discipline of getting back to people when they reach out to us. This will be appreciated, just as our walking the halls and speaking with our people every day, or as often as we can, is appreciated. It is not easy, yet as a leader, it is important and will make a positive difference. It may even become contagious in our company/organization, and wouldn’t that be wonderful – a culture of active respect for one another.