Respect And Accountability

How’s the respect level on your team and in your organization? Are there people on your team or inside your organization that don’t receive the respect they deserve? Are there people outside your team or organization—customers, suppliers, cross-functional teams and partners, vendors, communities, or other stakeholders—that likewise fail to receive respect from your organization? If so, why? How often? What about the people who report directly to you? Are any of them respected more than others? If so, why? Are you respected by your peers and other leaders? When did you last feel seriously disrespected? What did you do about it?

Companies on Fortune’s most admired company list work hard to make respect for others a daily priority. In fact, most of them cultivate profound respect for individuals as well as heartfelt accountability for demonstrating respect for others on a daily basis. The branded products and services of these companies are intended to produce superior quality and value for their customers, which requires their leaders and employees to take accountability for demonstrating beliefs and values such as (1) showing respect for all individuals, (2) combining the interests of the company and the individual, (3) focusing work strategically to maximize engagement and productivity,(4) encouraging innovation as a cornerstone of success, (5) valuing personal mastery and individual growth, and (6) embracing mutual interdependency as a way of organizational life.

One of the important benefits of taking accountability for respecting individuals and their individuality is an unusually high level of trust that facilitates astonishingly open and candid discussions about mistakes, learning, failures, and how to foster continuous improvement. Think about it. Do you See It—i.e., do you see the level of respect you want and need in your team and organization?

To better Own It, learn more about how to build greater accountability for respecting individuals and individuality in your team and organization. To do so, we invite you to join the Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com, where you can review actual client case studies.

See It, Own It, and Accountability Community are all registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership, Inc.