BEHAVIOR #2 - DEMONSTRATE RESPECT (pp. 144 - 151)

I really appreciated the story in this chapter (p. 146) about the business school professor who asked the students on an exam who the janitor was.  His justification was this: "Most of you dream about being the president and CEO of a successful company.  But success is a team effort.  A good leader takes nothing for granted and recognizes the contributinos made by everyone on the team - even those people who appear to do themost insignifcant jobs." In that spirit, I wanted to share the core value of teams & respect with you from Ebco's Philosophy Statement (with credits to MOOG Corporation)

We Are Members of One Team and Will Treat Each Other With Respect

We are all in this together. Even though we rely on an individual’s competence, success in our company is a team effort.  We cannot operate as a collection of individual contributors.  Everyone is expected to collaborate when it’s required.  People are expected to develop the relationships that are so crucial to having team success.  We expect that everyone is motivated to achieve success for the Company as a whole as you experience your own individual success.

Success in our company is a team effort

For the team to operate effectively, each individual has to take responsibility for achieving his or her part of the desired outcome.  Sometimes these responsibilities may even seem to fall beyond the normal boundaries of one’s job.  In our Company, if something needs to be done, people “step-up” and get it done whether or not it’s formally part of their job.  At EBCO, people don’t say, “it’s not my job.”  Rather they say, “It’s all my job.”

At all levels, people in our Company are given lots of responsibility and lots of independence.  The Company provides a framework, with goals, from which to operate but we trust people and we presume that folks are going to meet their responsibilities with little or no direction or supervision.  We believe that if people need help, they’ll ask for it.  We’re proud of the fact that, in many instances, we provide people the opportunity to try, to fail, to learn, and to grow.

We look for solutions, not scapegoats.  In all companies, things sometimes go wrong.  Shipments are late, designs are wrong, bills don’t get paid.  In many companies, when these events occur, the tendency is to find out “who’s at fault” and then blame that person or people.  In our company, it’s much more important to figure out how we’re going to solve the problem, than it is to assign blame.  When a problem occurs, we treat it as a learning experience, and work together to craft a mutually agreeable solution.  We behave this way whether we’re dealing with other EBCO employees, customers, or suppliers.

Communication – Complete, honest and open – is crucial. Communication involves not only telling and talking, but also listening.

Covey gives many examples of respect throughout this behavior. Respect shows up in a lot of different ways. Saying 'please', 'thank you' and 'excuse me', a warm smile, shaking hands, eye contact, returning phone calls and emails, not interrupting are common courtesies.  Surprisingly these common courtesies are not as common as they used to be. Did you know there is an entire cottage industry springing up helping the corporate world regain their sense of etiquette in dealing with one another. Check out this interesting treatment of the subject by Giovanella Gonthier.  https://www.amazon.com/Rude-Awakenings-Overcoming-Civility-Workplace/dp/079315197X

"What creates trust, in the end, is the leader's manifest respect for the followers." James O'Toole

"While 'Demonstrate Respect' may come across as a 'soft' behavior to some, I contend that it absolutely has a direct relationship to trust and therefore to the bottomline." (p. 149)

Summary: Behavior #2 - DEMONSTRATE RESPECT

* Genuinely care for others

* Show you care

* Respect the dignity of every person and every role

* Treat everyone with respect, especially those who can't do anything for you.

* Show kindness in the little things.

* Don't fake caring (or at least behave your way to sincerity)

* Don't attempt to be 'efficient' with people

I will post a second post for this week on the 3rd BEHAVIOR