Respect is a Business Growth Strategy

Respect is a Business Growth Strategy

When there’s mutual respect and trust, collaboration can happen. ~ Danita Bye

Respect is to consider someone or something worthy of high regard. [1]

Many of the experienced business owners I talk to are deeply frustrated. They tell me that the Millennials they meet or employ are disrespectful.  Is this an unfair generalisation? Keep in mind that our Millennials have been raised without traditional boundaries. They are independent thinkers and often don’t even realize when they’re being disrespectful.

How might a fresh perspective on respect change the way you coach and mentor your Millennial sales leaders to grow your business and win more new accounts?

Respect is something that every generation sees differently.  Boomers, and the generations before them, have been taught to respect anyone who can be seen an “elder.”  Millennials, however, are not intentionally trying to be disrespectful, but they regard respect as a two-way relationship value.

I have always placed a high premium on respect. As the national sales manager at Micro-Tech Hearing Instruments, I hired salespeople regularly.  One of my “hidden” interviewers was the receptionist.  If she said a candidate treated her rudely or disrespectfully, it was an automatic and immediate disqualifier. Why? Respect. It’s that important. No amount of talent or charm makes it worth hiring a disrespectful person.

Have you ever considered how you can turn respect into a business growth strategy?

I have developed a definition about our relationship wiring that runs through this series like a golden thread.  It encapsulates the concept of turning respect into one of our key business growth strategies.

Respect your “Relationship Wiring,” a valuing of the uniqueness of both self and others that fuels collaboration so that teamwork is maximized.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll provide you with tips, tools and resources to help you coach and mentor your Millennials to truly understand the meaning of respect so that they can maximize their collaboration with others as they grow your business.

We’ll lay the foundation by taking a deeper look into the importance of self-respect, then build our strong walls with respect for others, learn how to create a respectful culture in the workplace and even discover why it’s important to respect our competition.  Most importantly, we will investigate whether it is possible to be respectful when we differ.

Redirect your frustration about the seemingly disrespectful behavior of Millennials and join me as we coach and mentor our young up-and-coming leaders on this key business growth strategy.

In the next post I’ll tell you about the first building block in mentoring your Millennials on how to develop respectful relationships – self-respect.

Leadership lesson: Respect enables you to build authentic, collaborative relationships with others.

Leadership question:  How are you modeling respect to the young leaders on your team?

​​© Copyright Danita Bye, 2017

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