Leadership: "R" is for Respect

Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner state in their book “Leadership Challenge” that “CREDIBILITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP”. If you do not have credibility it is impossible to truly lead others. The key in any relationship comes down to respect and credibility. This fact is crucial for leaders. If you are a leader in any organization, church or business there is ample opportunity for abuse of power. Once you abuse the power you have been given by “positional leadership”, the loss of credibility is often permanent.

When a leader looses respect those following feel a betrayal of sorts and will understandably cease to follow that leader. Trust in the leader is the main reason that people follow and one way you can be a leader in whom people place their trust is to value integrity. If you respect yourself, and are honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses, then you will gain respect from others. No one expects perfection from a leader, but everyone expects honesty and integrity from those leading. Even when the honest answers are hard to hear, they are accepted much easier from someone who has earned respect and has credibility by past actions.

Respect is earned and rarely is done so in a short time. It is hard to respect someone fully when the relationship is new because there is no pattern of behavior established. Once someone “proves” themselves to be a credible leader, then with every hurdle of integrity securely jumped the amount of respect increases and it becomes easier to trust in the future. Remember, above all other leadership qualities, you must be a leader who has the respect of your followers…and that only happens once you have proven yourself to be credible.