This morning I met with one of my favorite management teams. I've watched them do the most amazing soul-searching in order to shift from a conflict-charged, distrustful group to a cohesive and respectful team. At their meeting today, they discussed the low staff morale in their organization. One manager said she feels like they're bad parents with out-of-control kids. By not taking bold action, she worried that they're failing to protect the good performers. The disrespectful employees, they all agreed, are poisoning the family. What lessons can parents take from the workplace home? When the climate at home has gone beyond the usual sibling squabbles and disrespectful behavior is more the rule than the exceptional bad-mood-day, it's time to ask some hard questions:
- How are you playing a role in your child's disrespectful behavior?
- How do you demonstrate respect through your everyday behavior?
- What is the cost of not setting clear consequences for disrespectful behavior?
- Have you established crystal clear expectations of what respect looks like, sounds like?
- Have you made clear what behavior gets "zero tolerance?"
Leadership is all about taking action to support compelling goals. We all want to raise respectful kids. The bottom line: show commitment to your parenting goals with action.
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