Do you ever feel that way? “I just can’t get respect from my crews.” The issue may not always be with everyone else; it may be a simple issue that you may not even be aware of.
I see many tradesman, office workers, clerks, managers, and many others of those in the workforce that are trying so hard to achieve their own goals that they set for themselves, they forget about the many people around them that could make achieving their goals much easier. It starts out small, by putting demands on those around you that are not explained, or delivered in a respectful way to the other person. Over time it comes to a point where you are blaming everyone around you for not doing a good job, or “I am so overworked I have to do everything.”
I had a manager I worked with years ago tell me the following: “Sometimes we are in the middle of the forest and we cannot find the solution because all the trees look the same, and it seems that the problems just won’t go away. You are lost in the forest and cannot find your way out.” He told me you have to take a moment and climb above the trees, and many times the very simple solution on how to exit becomes very clear. What this means is that when everyone around you seems to be useless, take a step back and see how things look overall. You may find that by asking the person doing the task how we can be more efficient, they may have a fantastic idea but were only doing it the way they were told – which in simple terms is the hard way.
By listening to your peers and those around you and who work for you, you win their respect. Thus they in turn will try to make you look good. If things are chaotic, what do you have to lose to try something different? Worst case it still does not work. I am not sure who said it, but I heard that the definition of insanity is “A person that keeps doing the same thing but expecting a different result.”
If you would like to hear more about respect listen to my most recent podcast on iTunes, on Google play, or just go to the website. Love to hear your thoughts; feel free to share. In the meantime, stay safe, and Keep Surging Forward.
