How To Earn Respect As A Leader

Being in a leadership role is a big adjustment from a standard role in any company. It comes with a lot of personal development and figuring out how to earn respect from your coworkers. Respect is not something that just comes when you get a promotion, it’s something you have to earn over time. Just starting in a leadership role can feel frustrating as you navigate the new changes of your job, but you earned your role for a reason, and it will get easier over time. 

Be kind 

Leaders are respected when they demonstrate kindness. It’s one thing to work towards setting yourself apart from non-leadership employees, but you should always be kind with how you do this. Many people who enter leadership roles may feel a huge ego boost and end up displaying signs of arrogance, and this is something that will never earn you any respect. 

Remember that your employees are people too, and they need someone with a good heart. Take your time to talk to each one regularly to gain their trust. You will never know their struggles unless you take the time to talk to them. You want your employees to feel comfortable coming to you with any issues they may come across, and regular one-on-one meetings are a good way to help with that.

Never stop learning 

As a leader, you never want to stop learning. You can utilize eLearning authoring tools to help develop your skills. Even if you’re comfortable in your current role and you don’t plan on moving jobs anytime soon, you still want to keep learning as much as you can. You not only want to keep learning how to be a better leader, but you’ll always want to stay current with any company policies. 

You’ll find that in a leadership role, your employees will come to you with questions. When you’re constantly learning, you’ll be able to have the answers to their questions. Leaders may not always have the answers, and that’s okay, but you’ll have to communicate with them so that you’ll find them the correct answer. 

Give respect 

To get respect from your employees, you’re going to have to show them respect first. Go the extra mile for your co-workers and be considerate. Treat your employees how you’d want to be treated in their roles. It’s important to show that you value the time of others as well as recognize their workloads. 

It also makes a difference to make an effort to praise your employees for any strengths and accomplishments. It can feel discouraging for almost anyone to work to their full potential and then never get any recognition for it. A good leader also takes the time to listen to what their employees have to say. 

Demonstrate work ethic 

If you want your employees to have a good work ethic, you want to demonstrate it yourself. If you’re always late, never working your scheduled shift, or you are often out for various reasons, it sets a bad example. In a leadership role, you have many people watching you, especially those who are not in leadership roles. You want to set a good example for them so they can follow in your footsteps. 

Be firm 

Good leaders are firm and consistent. You don’t want to have everyone walking all over you, so it’s necessary to set those boundaries. You want to be kind and have your employees trust you and respect you, but you also need to be consistent in everything you do. 

If you try to be friends with your employees, they may find it hard to trust you as a leader, and they may feel like they’re able to do things they’re not supposed to and get away with it. If your employees are constantly breaking the rules, it’s important to do something about it. 

A leader is someone that helps with growth and has a clear focus on their goals and the goals of the company. Leaders are often risk-takers, are honest, and encourage teamwork. While leadership roles do come with their set of challenges, it is a very rewarding position to be in and the challenges can be overcome.