Respect My Office - Please !!!

Just last week after a committee meeting, it was determined that each person had their roles defined and should set about contributing to the success of the team. This is fine and dandy when you have a set of individuals who are commited to making the project successful, and based on the persons who were in this project, the job was getting done. This is exactly what you want to see and need to have happen.


Our illustration here highlights a situation, where one member of the committee in their project role attempted to conduct business with a vendor/supplier. The role of the member was to enquire and also state our requirements as a team and ask the vendor for a quotation. However the vendor took it upon themselves to want to intimidate the project member, and insinuate that the project member didn't know what they were talking about and that the project member have no clue how to do business. My immediate reaction was fury and the desire to call up the vendor and haul them over the coals was eminent.


Then as an aspiring leader and motivator, I refused to go on my first reaction. In addition the project member highlighted that the vendor wanted to speak to me personally - I guess to "knock" some sense into the project member. However in business leadership you need to refuse things sometimes, and so I did refuse the vendors invitation to chat, and indicated that the project member has been given their role (office) and as such should be respected in the capacity. So many times the leader of the group takes away the ability or the respect of the team member's office such that the team member's position in effect becomes redundant. This opens up the leader to handle the day-to-day running of the team rather than strategic management. Rather the leader should be humble and pragmatic enough to realise that leading is not about the ego but about the team and its direction.


When the leader of the team can stand up and say to the public - respect the office of my team members, then he as a leader immediately commands respect of the team and also the public. It is not to say that resisting the urge to take over some team member's role is easy, but as a leader one has to know - When, Where & How...


Respect My Office - Please!!!

(photo credits: www.flickr.com/photos/grocko/1547186/)