Being a respected leader and boss requires taking responsibility for each situation, discovering the true issue, and making the best decisions to improve results. And? Asking for help! (So often overlooked until it’s too late.)
Respect grows when you prevent small issues from becoming major crises and shows your team you value team results over your ego.
The biggest challenge I’m seeing today with leaders is they focus on being well‑liked by employees and customers, and disregard the importance of being respected. This stifles innovation, and team members withdraw from actively focusing on intended results.
A general manager (GM) for a company was well liked by employees and clients. It was a surprise and shock when he was reamed by a new board member about his poor management of the company’s satellite office. After the board session, the GM resigned. After the employees and other board members convinced him to stay, he rescinded his resignation. But nothing was done to resolve the real issue of poor financial management of the satellite office. Several months later the GM was fired.
In this situation, the GM was liked but not respected. He did not ask for help, and no one addressed the real issue of poor financial management results. This also revealed a deeper problem: there were no accountability systems in place to catch issues early, and no one was telling the truth soon enough to prevent a crisis.
5 Keys to Build Respect as a Leader
- Select the Best People. Stop intuitive hiring practices! Respect begins by hiring, promoting, and job transitioning your management and employee teams into positions that fit them! (It’s called job‑fit.) Before selecting people, craft a well‑designed selection process to collect objective, valid, and reliable data about the person’s ability to be effective in the job. This requires using qualified job‑fit assessments, conducting job‑focused interviews, and implementing a six‑month onboarding program.
- Make Faster Decisions. Taking days, weeks, or months to make decisions is often due to poor decision‑making skills. Do your homework by having intentional conversations … the decisions will become much clearer. Remember, integrity, critical thinking, and paying attention to the impact on others are key to making decisions that impact everyone long‑term. Let go of those elephants!
- Talk It Out. Communication is everything. Too often, leaders don’t pay attention to their own words, avoid having tough conversations, and ignore others’ concerns. With your team, go around the table to get everyone’s input until there is nothing new being added. The process includes eliciting responses from those you normally don’t listen to, and may include things you don’t want to hear! The answers reside inside the quality of these conversations! Yes, it can take more time in the short-run. But in the long run, it builds respect for you as a leader, and provides support when implementing less‑than‑popular decisions. Telling the truth early, even when it’s uncomfortable, is a cornerstone of respect and prevents small issues from becoming major problems.
- Build Good Working Relationships. This facilitates getting things resolved with less push-back and faster buy‑in. Respect is a two‑way street. Before offering opinions about how things should be done or how a person should view a situation, listen! Remember, hearing and asking open‑ended questions will always build stronger relationships and uncover most concerns.
- Plan for Your Replacement. Succession planning and development are crucial for future leaders. When you plan for your replacement, you build respect because you are showing your commitment to the longevity of the company, more than your own personal interests. You never know when your successor will need to step up, either short or long‑term, due to illness, death of a family member, and other issues. The key? Make sure the person is the right one. (SEE #1 above) Too often, a good #2 person does not make a good #1 leader. Don’t skip #1.
To be a respected leader and achieve intended results, implement the five keys. Contact me to accelerate your success.
©Jeannette Seibly, 2023-2026 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly is a Leadership Results Coach, Talent Advisor, and Business Author with 33 years of experience activating greatness in leaders and companies. She delivers practical coaching and solutions that elevate performance today, build legacies that stand the test of time, and support people in empowering themselves to lead with clarity and impact.