The Progress Paradox: Do We Really Believe in Respect for People?

Every organization claims to have respect for its people, but actions often speak louder than words. When leaders order a mass layoff or continually cancel one-on-one meetings with subordinates because something “more important” came up, the question arises: Do you as a leader only have respect for people when it’s convenient?

In this episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement, podcast hosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer tackle the thorny topic of respect for people: how to demonstrate it, telltale signs it doesn’t exist and whether it is necessary all of the time.

Respect for people “grows slowly and erodes very quietly as well,” which can make it difficult to determine whether an organization is improving or backsliding with respect to this tenet, says Saleh. Daily behaviors offer some clues, however.

• Are you interrupting people when they are speaking, particularly front-line workers?
• Are you canceling coaching or one-on-one sessions with your mentees or other subordinates—not on the rare occasion but routinely?
• Are you skipping morning huddles because you’ve been pulled into a million meetings? Is that absence a trend or a one-off?

The podcast hosts delve into the importance of leadership consistency, transparency and accountability to develop employee trust.

“Everything you do, you need to have it … in the back of your mind. Is this showing respect? Or can I turn this into something that shows respect or is it basically … causing my employees to distrust that this is real?” Dyer says.

Dyer and Saleh say respect for people is unconditional, no matter the business environment. However, “… that doesn't mean that you're off the hook from making the tough decisions,” Dyer says.

The duo delves into what respect for people looks like when a situation arises in which an employee seems unable to meet an organization's performance standards or when layoffs seem likely in the face of financial pressures. For the latter, they discuss taking proactive measures such as cross-training, using temporary employees and reducing bonuses for leadership.

"If people are your greatest asset, they can't always be our first lever when we're under financial pressure," Saleh says.