Building Bridges…

“Stove piping” across corporate structure is often found in dysfunctional companies. Sometimes managers will think that it only happens in very large companies – but the “THEM” behavior is available in ample supply across all companies.

Respect is one of the best tools for removal of the silo walls within the organization. Not the only tool, or necessarily the best tool – Respect is the price of admission – it needs to be in your toolbox. If you expect to change the behavior of an associate, a boss, a trading partner – you have to do it with respect.

Respect is not a “demand” item – it is a “supply” item. You can’t really “demand” respect – but you can freely supply it. Sure, there is deferential respect to title – where the VP gets more “respect” than the clerk – but that is a first impression – superficial respect. After a while a horse’s petard is recognized as a horse’s petard – thus earning the appropriate level of respect.

Respect is a “supply” item in any relationship. If you show respect to others they will show respect to you. There are so many ways to show respect – and that respect “costs” nothing but thought and effort.

Which of the following email delivered (including cc:) requests shows respect?

  “Tim, Would you please complete the attached form!”

 “Tim, Please complete the attached form and send back to all. Thanks”

Is it respectful when in the middle of a conversation you “check out” and read your Blackberry?

Do you look the person delivering that report to your desk in the eye when you say “thank you”?

Do you look in the person’s eye when you shake hands?

Common Sense you say?

Go out for a week and conduct business – and ask yourself if it is all that common.

These are little things – and all show “respect”. They not only get you returned respect from the person you show it to – you gain respect from the people that serve witness to your given respect.

And the great thing about respect – it scales up and it adds up.