Today’s business leaders need to have a team that they can trust to get the job done, complete projects, and help move a company to the future. But at Technalink, we’ve noticed that a surprising number of people try to lead through intimidation and fear instead of through respect and compassion. It’s a huge mistake, and one that you can’t afford to make for yourself and your business.
If you’re looking to give your company the best possible future, be sure that you treat your employees the right way and that you use honesty and compassionate leadership to become a leader who employees respect, not fear.
The Difference Between Fear And Respect
So why is it so important to lead with respect through solid communication, compassionate leadership, and a mutual respect for your employees instead of with fear? Consider the following:
- Fear breeds contempt. If your employees adopt an ‘us versus them’ mentality, it will sabotage your business from within and make it harder to reach any goals or milestones.
- Employee retention plummets when you’re viewed as a hard case to be feared. Keeping good employees is a must, and you can only do this through respect and compassion – not fear, which just drives people away.
- You’ll never have your finger on the pulse of your business if your employees fear you. When they respect you, its’ easier for them to carry on conversations, communicate with you, and talk about your business and what they feel can improve it. Your employees are the frontline warriors of your business, and listening to them can help it grow – but they’ll be less likely to talk to you if they’re afraid to even approach you.
In short, when employees respect you it’s much more likely that you can improve your company and guide it towards a brighter future than if you try to lead through fear.
The Path To Better Respect
So how can you increase the level of respect that your employees have for you? It’s easy, really:
- Show them that you respect and value them
- Focus on compassionate leadership wherever you can
- Lead through example
- Accept responsibility and give credit where it is due
- Be fair no matter the situation
- Listen to your team and show them that you trust in their input
In other words, just treating your team like they’re the valuable resources that they really are is the key to getting the respect that you need to thrive as a modern business leader.
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