Tuesday 16 December 2003

R - E - S - P - E - C - T !

Can he pass the respect test?
Hired as an expert to offer solutions for the benefit of the organisation that employed you, when do you begin to realise that you are the valued asset or part of the corporate dunghill?
Treating RESPECT as an acronym, we put the boss through his paces.
Recognition
If the boss has to recognise your worth and talent formally, then he has to consider ways of compensating you. Compensation is easy; however, the power to withhold compensation is even a greater intoxicating boost to the boss's ego.
This is the first aspect of respect where it is evident that you doing your job bring kudos to the boss, but the line is that you should grateful you have a job.
Expectation
There are two sides to expectation; one to do with unachievable goals set by people who have not appreciation what it takes to get a job done and the other to do with you being challenged and mentored to produce your best and excel.
Maintaining the first expectation comes from the boss not engaging you in the process of decision-making though you are the expert. The second comes from the boss who recognises that bring out the best in his troops involves developing their potential even if they end up excelling beyond the boss.
Significance
Is your boss the one-man island of taking all the accolades or a team player that knows that the team with all its significant members and everyone in any one team is significant?
Where the boss recognises your contribution, you are significant and respected.
Participation
This depends on when you are called in to participate, if involved in the decision-making process your significance is recognised because it is expected that you have the ideas needed.
However, if you only participate when you receive orders to execute a task little account is taken of whom you are.
Encouragement
A boss who is in no fear of his position would encourage ideas to bring the best out of his team. In building the team, he would also encourage individuality to promote creativity, which brings the best results.
This boss respects his team and works hard to ensure that mentally, emotionally and professionally, his team are in top condition.
A boss who discourages by continually threatening his team with their jobs or disparaging their work would end up with clones and Yes-men.
He will not get good counsel and would miss the truth he needs to make the team create value.
Consideration
A boss who thinks you are wedded to your job alone and deserve no time to a life outside work is inconsiderate. He mortgages your free time and weekend for his own ends with consultation.
Takes no time to communicate issues that affect you and freely plays your secrets out to others in guise of making others think they are part of the trusted inner-circle.
Trust
When you need your boss to back you up on any issue no matter the political fallout; he is there risking the consequences for the name and honour of the team.
He is someone you can trust and he can trust you.
Has your boss passed the respect test?
Soon we would find out if you have passed the respect test.

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