Gaining respect in the workplace affects your income, job security, and career progress. Here are 10 ways to get the respect you deserve.
Gaining Respect by Giving Credit
People gain respect when they give credit to the correct person. Giving credit is a compliment with substance.
On the other hand, people who claim credit for the work of other people lose respect. People who know that these people are undeserving of that credit will resent the dishonesty.
If you give credit, you will get respect and make your company stronger.
Own Your Mistakes
You will get respect when you own your mistakes.
Everyone makes mistakes. Successful people admit them and do not repeat them. People will respect you if you correct your mistakes and move on.
Don’t make excuses for failing to do your work. Be honest. You just did not do the work. You regret it. When you admit your mistakes and not repeat them, you will get respect.
Do Your Job
You will get respect when you do your ob.
Get a copy of your job description. Read it with your boss. Discuss regularly with your boss what you are doing. When you are uncertain about what you are doing, ask your boss for information.
Your boss will respect you for knowing and doing what you are supposed to do. Your co-workers will respect you.
Let People Do their Job
You will get respect when you let other people do their job.
There are two parts to letting people do their job.
First, do not do let people take advantage of you. Being a team player and helping other people occasionally is one thing. Having people use you to do their work is not the way to get respect at work.
Second, do not interfere with other people by meddling in their job. People do not always want your advice. People certainly do not want you to do their job and take credit for what their job.
By respecting the job of other people, people will respect you.
Lighten Up
You will get respect when you lighten up.
If you don’t take yourself too seriously, people will respect you more. Your daily routine is a marathon, not a sprint. If you come to work every day and load the workplace with pressure, you will create tension.
Be sincere. Work hard. Be straightforward with your supervisors, co-workers, and people you manage. Take your work seriously. However, don’t take everything so seriously that you can’t accept mistakes and adjustments in the daily routine. People will enjoy working with you and you will get respect.
Keeping Your Word
You will get respect when you keep your word.
Honor your commitments. If you know that you can’t do something or that you will not do something, be honest about it. Don’t make a commitment to do things that you can’t or will not do. Keeping your word is basic to gaining respect.
Punctuality
You will get respect when you are punctual.
People will quickly get weary of dealing with you if you are late all the time. Make your appointments on time. Complete your work on time.
You will get respect when people know they can trust you to complete your work on time.
Personal Appearance
You will get respect when you take care of your personal appearance.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Keep your hair groomed. Keep your shirt or blouse tucked in. Wear clean clothes.
Don’t overdress for the job. You just want to look professional. You want to look neat.
If your boss wears khakis and an open-collar shirt, don’t wear a three-piece suit. If your boss wears a blouse and a skirt, don’t wear expensive dresses.
You want to look like part of the team. Imagine the manager of a major league baseball team wearing a suit in the dugout during the baseball game instead of wearing a team uniform. Imagine a professional basketball coach wearing a basketball uniform instead of a suit.
You will get respect when you respect yourself in how you dress.
Gossip
You will get respect when you avoid gossip and protect confidences
A quick way to ruin relationships is to gossip. Avoid people who gossip. The only people who respect people who gossip are other people who gossip.
Keep confidences. When someone tells you something personal or private, keep it to yourself. Even if you do not make a commitment to keep the information private, respect the trust that people have given you. People do not respect people who break their confidences.
You will get respect as a person who is trustworthy.
Gaining Respect through Confidence
You will get respect when you show confidence.
Show confident in your body language. Show confidence in what you say, and how you say it.
“Courage is grace under pressure,” to quote Ernest Hemingway. Staying calm under pressure shows confidence is grace under any circumstance.
