Staff can have many feelings toward you as a manager.

Simultaneously.

They can be mad at you for not giving them a requested day off.

They can be frustrated, miffed, stressed because the schedule needed to be adjusted, or a new cross training program is being implemented.

They can see you deal with a difficult customer and be inspired by you.

Or maybe in a moment they become indifferent to you or a little defensive around you because things are changing.

All these emotions are fickle, and swirl with the moods of the day and vagaries of the times.

There is one emotion however, that once felt, seems to anchor all the others.

Seems to act as filter and is referenced before action is taken.

This emotion has a strength, stability and weightiness to it.

This emotion is not quick to come and is proven under hard won circumstances. 

It is the emotion of respect.

Staff can feel many things toward you, and they will, but if they respect you, your leadership is on firm ground and solid footing.

Staff want to respect their managers and leaders even more than wanting to like them.

It’s close to a basic human need.

They are dependent on us as managers to provide a workplace with good systems and structure implemented with fairness, accountability and consistency.

To be brave in the face of what is not working and nurturing the heart of what is.

We can’t mandate our staff to respect us, we can only show them that we are worthy.