How to be a manager people respect

As a manager, you depend on the power of respect to lead your people and get your job done. Respect is the great resource that all managers want, but few possess.

Managers serve as a resource, advocate, and leader to their technicians and salespeople. In addition, a manager is the implementer of strategy for the business owner. With all of the demands on the average manager, it can be very easy to become the type of manager that is not respected. A manager without respect will struggle, and find work to be a painful grind.

Terry Barrett, Thomas Dougherty, and I have written a Principle Based Approach to Management called the PRESS PLAY – Management Series.

In this post, you are going to discover The Power of Respect, and The 5 Essential Management Keys

The Power of Respect

#1 – Respect gets your voice heard

One of the biggest complaints of manager’s is that their people don’t listen. If your people are not listening, it is because they are not tuned it. They are not tuned in, because you don’t have their respect.

#2 – Respect builds your influence

Being heard is one thing, but doing what is asked is another. When your people respect you, they hear you, and follow your leadership.

RELATED – 6 keys that will transform your training sessions

#3 – Respect gives your momentum

Momentum is real. Once it is on your side, your life becomes easier! Respect is leadership momentum. When you have it, you look smarter and better than you actually are.

5 essential management keys

#1 – People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care

It is a mistake to think you can lead and manage people because you are the smartest. Guess what?

Your people don’t care how smart you are!

Being a manager isn’t about looking good. It’s about helping others look their best. When you focus your energy on helping your team grow, then they will be influenced by your heart.

#2 – Reward your team by motivation and recognition

Motivation is a personal thing. For some it’s money, for other’s it’s a public award.

As a manager, you need to learn what it is that motivates your team members individually. When you discover those individual motivators, it proves that you know your people.

Here is an example:

Terry Barrett loves 2 things with a great passion:

1. His wife Stacy
2. A practical joke.

So, last Valentine’s I sent Stacy a very large vase of flowers from Derek Jeter. (She LOVES Derek Jeter!)

I even made a fake email address, and sent personalized messages and pics of Stacy and Derek on a “date.”

Now, I know what you might be thinking, “I would kill you Todd!!  I would hate that!”

Well, Stacy and Terry loved it! They spent 3 days trying to figure out who sent her the flowers. It was the perfect way to reward them as a family.

This only worked because I understand what motivates Terry and Stacy.

#3 – Consistently correct your team when their performance and behavior becomes misaligned

If you want to lose the respect of your team, then don’t correct them.

This is the #1 flaw I see in managers. Because of a desire to be liked, managers will not correct the behavior, or performance issues, consistently. This type of manager will correct some techs and salespeople, and give others a pass.

It is not long before all the salespeople and techs will label you as “unfair” and “unrespectable.”

RELATED – The 5 Traps of a Service Manager

#4 – Be the standard by which your salespeople and service techs measures themselves

“Do as I say, not as I do!” is the battlecry of the disrespectable manager.

If you want to be considered a respectable manager, then you must live up to the standard you proclaim to enforce.

#5 – Admit when you are wrong, and work on being better

There is great power in admitting when you are wrong.  You are a manager, not a god.  Your people don’t expect you to be perfect, they just demand that you are excellent.

When you make a mistake, own it.  Admit to the mistake.  Don’t sweep it under the rug.

Then make a personal plan for improvement, and implement your personal plan publicly.

As your people watch you grow, their respect for you will grow.