How Do You Cultivate Respect at Your Workplace?

Respect is a key aspect of being an effective leader and leading a successful team. However, not understanding how to show respect is a common stumbling block for leaders.

As leaders, moving beyond “treating others as you want to be treated” is important in fostering a culture of respect. One’s nationality, race or ethnicity, age, professional experiences, etc. can shape what constitutes respectful behavior.

Valuing the diversity of cultures and perspectives within your team, building trust, providing clarity regarding workplace expectations and creating a psychologically safe environment are essential to cultivating a culture of respect.

It’s also beneficial to know your team beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. An effective team-building activity is to ask your team members to name a person they respect the most, and why. The person can be anyone, a family member, friend, mentor, supervisor, etc. Their responses will be invaluable in understanding how they view respect and how you can show them respect.