TRAITS OF LEADER THAT EARN RESPECT -INTEGRITY & FAIRNESS

This articles is being extracted from MAHB Internal Auditor - source from the STAR.

INTEGRITY

Do my actions match my words? Do I practice what I preach? Do I deliver at the level I expect of my own staff? We all respect leaders who lead by example. Nothing breaks the trust relationship faster that realizing your leader does not walk the talk. This is common knowledge and yet many leaders still fail to heed this principle. Some don’t care. They feel they are untouchable in the organization anyway, so what their staff think of them counts for nothing. Some don’t see the need to model a healthy work ethos for their staff. After all, they’re the boss, and the life of a boss is and should be different from the life of a lowly worker.

“Just because I expect my staff to be in office at 8:30 am sharp, does not mean that I need to be on time. These rules don’t apply to me. In the same way, just because I make my staff work through the weekends, doesn’t mean that I need to do so”.

While I certainly understand that some perks should be afforded to senior management, we can’t run away from this basic truth: what you do is more important that what you say. As leaders, we are being watched all the time – that is the cost of leadership. With much power comes much responsibility.  You want respect? Then you need to demonstrate to your staff that you are willing to work as hard as they are, you are willing to sacrifice as much as you want them to. Like it or not, that is the reality.

FAIRNESS

Are you fair in the way you deal with your staff? Is justice seen to be done in the way you promote, reward, rebuke, allocate resources to staff? Do you have any favorites in your team, any blue-eyed boys or girls who can get away with anything?  Staff may not always agree with your decisions. At times, they may think you’re too tough, your expectations are too high, your targets too lofty. But in the end, they will still respect your decisions as their leader if they believe you are fair and just to everyone in the office.

I realise this is an especially hard task to manage. Human beings have a tendency to be paranoid, particularly when they don’t get what they want. There is a tendency to see favouritism even when none exist. All a leader can do is to be as transparent and as careful as possible. Make sure you spend time with all your staff, if possible. Give each of your direct reports some one-to-one face time, so that they know they have your ear and they have equal access to you. This regular access goes a long way towards dispelling unhappiness among staff.

Explain the rationale behind your decisions, especially when they are unpopular. Put in place a transparent performance management system that as far as possible minimise subjective judgments when it comes to staff evaluation.