The title of this post may trigger thoughts of Aretha Franklin's classic number that arguably became the theme song of the American Feminist movement in the 60s. But we aren't far away from what I have in mind. But this is more about what happens to people in organisations. Read on....
Many of us, even though we refuse to accept, depend on our colleagues and subordinates to become successful. This is even more true when we come into a new organisation and are struggling to establish ourselves in the first few weeks. We will need specific help from our compatriots to get us started on the job or to show us the way in those incipient days. Many would expect our bosses to help but this seldom happens. So we are left to fend for ourselves and quickly find allies. This is where a vast majority of us fail to make it and feel frustrated in the first few weeks. We feel we have no authority or have not been empowered enough to do the job. What we fail to realise is that we have to build credibility and earn the respect of our co-workers, even if they are part of our own team before they will start to collaborate and help.
How does one do that? How does one get R.E.S.P.E.C.T...?? People won't just give it to you. We have to do it the old fashioned way..... we gotta earn it. Once you have built credibility, you will have influence and impact on people. And they will do your bidding!! All easier said but how to get it done?
I love this movie titled "Erin Brockovich", based on a true story and also the name of the protagonist in the film (ably played by the lovely Julia Roberts). At the start of the film, she is a single mother of 3, completely broke and struggling to find a job to keep the family going. She forces her way into a menial clerical job in a law firm. We watch in horror her colleague refusing to teach her even the basics and none of the others willing to cooperate. She has no reputation of any kind nor qualifications and no real expertise in anything specific. But she has oodles of confidence in herself with a bit of social skills thrown in and a dogged persistence of a Pitt-bull. How she transforms a hopeless situation into a mass movement with mind-boggling results is the story. At the end of movie, she becomes the No. 2 person in the firm, next to the owner and with no legal background whatsoever!! How does Erin build R.E.S.P.E.C.T ?
Here are some ways to it.... For ease, will use the same seven letters - R.E.S.P.E.C.T - to illustrate.
R - reputation - you come into an organisation with a huge reputation from the past and live up to all the hype in the new place. Soon you've got people rallying around you.
E - expertise - you have deep knowledge of something your colleagues need to do their jobs better and you are ever willing to help and share your expertise with them.
S - social skills - you have top class social skills with which you charm your way into the hearts of your compatriots very quickly.
P - persistence - you simply don't give up and keep trying with hope and tenacity. When things don't work out at start you simply lick your wounds and are up trying again and again and again till you succeed - by analysing what went wrong and what needs to be done differently. Importantly, you seek counsel from your colleagues on what could be done differently or where you went wrong the first time.
E - Energy - you display tremendous amount of energy and are willing to run around and help people all the time and also take up all the dirty jobs that no one wants to do (This could also be "telling" the boss what he ought to be doing or not doing. You pretty much become the guy or gal who "bells" the cat!!)
C - confidence - you sound, look and conduct yourself with a cool confidence in yourself and your abilities while staying humble that others feel an urge to listen to you and do your bidding.
T - transformational - you are a person full of ideas - innovative and out-of-the-box - willing to listen and take inputs from the team to improve them but provide some path-breaking solutions to problems and willing to share the credit but take the blame for an idea gone wrong.
Follow any one of these 7 and you are there. You may have no reportees nor a department to lead but just focus on any one of the R.E.S.P.E.C.T and soon you will be seen as the leader par excellence. Remember, leadership is not a title or a designation.... it is followership......
Many of us, even though we refuse to accept, depend on our colleagues and subordinates to become successful. This is even more true when we come into a new organisation and are struggling to establish ourselves in the first few weeks. We will need specific help from our compatriots to get us started on the job or to show us the way in those incipient days. Many would expect our bosses to help but this seldom happens. So we are left to fend for ourselves and quickly find allies. This is where a vast majority of us fail to make it and feel frustrated in the first few weeks. We feel we have no authority or have not been empowered enough to do the job. What we fail to realise is that we have to build credibility and earn the respect of our co-workers, even if they are part of our own team before they will start to collaborate and help.
How does one do that? How does one get R.E.S.P.E.C.T...?? People won't just give it to you. We have to do it the old fashioned way..... we gotta earn it. Once you have built credibility, you will have influence and impact on people. And they will do your bidding!! All easier said but how to get it done?
I love this movie titled "Erin Brockovich", based on a true story and also the name of the protagonist in the film (ably played by the lovely Julia Roberts). At the start of the film, she is a single mother of 3, completely broke and struggling to find a job to keep the family going. She forces her way into a menial clerical job in a law firm. We watch in horror her colleague refusing to teach her even the basics and none of the others willing to cooperate. She has no reputation of any kind nor qualifications and no real expertise in anything specific. But she has oodles of confidence in herself with a bit of social skills thrown in and a dogged persistence of a Pitt-bull. How she transforms a hopeless situation into a mass movement with mind-boggling results is the story. At the end of movie, she becomes the No. 2 person in the firm, next to the owner and with no legal background whatsoever!! How does Erin build R.E.S.P.E.C.T ?
Here are some ways to it.... For ease, will use the same seven letters - R.E.S.P.E.C.T - to illustrate.
R - reputation - you come into an organisation with a huge reputation from the past and live up to all the hype in the new place. Soon you've got people rallying around you.
E - expertise - you have deep knowledge of something your colleagues need to do their jobs better and you are ever willing to help and share your expertise with them.
S - social skills - you have top class social skills with which you charm your way into the hearts of your compatriots very quickly.
P - persistence - you simply don't give up and keep trying with hope and tenacity. When things don't work out at start you simply lick your wounds and are up trying again and again and again till you succeed - by analysing what went wrong and what needs to be done differently. Importantly, you seek counsel from your colleagues on what could be done differently or where you went wrong the first time.
E - Energy - you display tremendous amount of energy and are willing to run around and help people all the time and also take up all the dirty jobs that no one wants to do (This could also be "telling" the boss what he ought to be doing or not doing. You pretty much become the guy or gal who "bells" the cat!!)
C - confidence - you sound, look and conduct yourself with a cool confidence in yourself and your abilities while staying humble that others feel an urge to listen to you and do your bidding.
T - transformational - you are a person full of ideas - innovative and out-of-the-box - willing to listen and take inputs from the team to improve them but provide some path-breaking solutions to problems and willing to share the credit but take the blame for an idea gone wrong.
Follow any one of these 7 and you are there. You may have no reportees nor a department to lead but just focus on any one of the R.E.S.P.E.C.T and soon you will be seen as the leader par excellence. Remember, leadership is not a title or a designation.... it is followership......
Very nice.. it gives a lot of confidence.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Nachiket
Very True!!
ReplyDeletea different way to look at the word-R.E.S.P.E.C.T
Wonderful piece of information....
ReplyDeletei own the pride of folllowing this & seeing/feeling gr8 changes as i climb the ladder!!!
ReplyDelete