Respect is a non-renewable currency

I took a break from this series last week. I took a break from the industry, and I wandered off to my marketing audience. While we were having fun and enjoying our time, the industry got jealous. And just like a seasoned cowboy, it swung its lasso and brought me back like a little helpless calf. So here I am, cranky and annoyed.

Why am I annoyed, you ask? Because respect is becoming a rare currency that nobody is bothering to preserve.

Having been on both sides of the management game, I can safely say that managing any team is easier said than done. Balancing the business' goals with the well-being of the team can drain the energy of the best managers out there. If you sacrifice your business goals, you will lose money. But if you choose to sacrifice the well-being of your team, something else is on the line.

Respect is the most cost-effective resource

It is no secret that some management circles tend to dehumanize their workforce in order to make business decisions easier, and more mathematical. I have heard the word "resource" thrown around to describe a human employee.

A cursory search on the internet helps us find the definition of a "resource", it reads:

A source of supply that can be readily drawn upon when needed.

It goes on to describe the characteristics of a resource as follows:

Utility, limited availability, and potential for depletion or consumption.

There is nothing to say about this designation other than it is one of the main reasons a worrying number of managers have lost their respect for the humanity of their team.

The consumption of the workforce becomes an inevitable conclusion, a bad habit these managers will slip into in the name of the business. But know one thing, the same way you lost your respect for your team's humanity, they are slowly losing their respect for yours.

Schedules start to balloon, Work hours start to lose their value, and complacency starts to settle in. These are the same people who used to hit deadlines, crunch during work hours, and sacrifice their personal comfort for the benefit of the work.

The overhead cost, generated by your healthy salary, starts to grow in order to ensure the same results your team used to achieve in the not-so-distant past.

Respect is more cost-effective.

Driven professionals seek respect, not wealth

Don't get me wrong, nobody climbing the corporate ladder works for free. A nice paycheck is essential in retaining these valuable professionals. However such professionals would not hesitate to turn down a hefty paycheck if they do not see themselves being a respected key player in the organization.

Looking at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it is easy to understand why Self-actualization is at the top of their priorities: With a corporate career comes a healthy financial and social life, checking off almost everything off of that pyramid.

These people do not think about their food and drink, nor their security and safety, not even their intimate social relationships, for those are a given. They are focused on achieving their full potential.

Trust, respect, and freedom are the necessary ingredients for turning these hungry talents into Corporate captains driving your business toward profitability. Treating them with control, mistrust, and derision instead is the perfect recipe for churned employees.

Slow bleeding or sudden death

Losing any respect you've accrued over the years can be very sudden. A misplaced comment or an untimely order can be the spark of a conflict that transforms your business relationships forever. However, most professionals are self-aware to some extent and manage to avoid these incendiary situations. Those situations can be seen coming from a mile away and are easy to avoid.

But the sociopathic management styles that are infecting the industry are an insidious disease. They infect your professional relationships, killing them slowly without you noticing. Like a droplet of water on a rock, sooner or later, a big chasm will replace the solid foundation on which you thought you had built your team.

Leadership training retreats, team-building exercises, and "my door is always open" messaging will not save you from the inevitable erosion of the respect of your team.

Empathy and self-awareness are, however, two remedies that come to mind. Take a moment and think about your interactions with your team. You should never do anything to your team you would not accept being done to you.

When respect is dead, Honest professionalism prevails

Regaining lost respect can take a lifetime. The show must go on and everyone should find the next best thing. Any consummate professional I have met has told me that an honest professional relationship ensures a balanced dynamic. Expectations are laid bare and everyone understands that we are here for a commercial goal: Workers have the expertise that the company requires in exchange for fair compensation and work environment.

No need for emotional tirades and fake family culture, just a simple transactional relationship. Is it ideal? Of course not! But in a world where corporations are resorting to brainwashing techniques to coerce workers to work in otherwise despicable environments, having an honest transactional relationship can feel, dare I say, refreshing!

I managed a team once, and I admit, I did not do a great job. I did lose respect, but not for their humanity. I lost respect for their bad work ethic, their lack of drive, and their disinterest. I gave up on trying to lift them up because they weren't willing to put in the work. Easy to say, I shortly handed in my resignation and sought a better opportunity. But that doesn't take away my ability to critique management: Food critics are not cooks and Film critics are not directors, they are consumers of the mediums they critique.

The only difference? I critique the managers who consume me...