You want to be respected, but you’re not sure how this whole thing works. The key here is to stop focusing on yourself and start thinking about others. How can you help others? How can you inspire change, growth, and innovation? When you think about the people you respect deeply, what do they do differently from the average person? These are some ways to earn the respect of others.
1. Be relentlessly proactive
Don’t always wait for direction from others. Use your skills and resources to start getting things done and solve problems. Get in the habit of figuring things out for yourself. Don’t be afraid of a challenge once in a while.
2. Keep your promises
This is by far one of the most important actions you can take to start gaining respect. If you took commitments lightly in the past, don’t do that anymore. Always honour commitments and promises. If you find yourself having a lot of trouble with that, it means you make too many promises you can’t keep.
3. Don’t waste other people’s time
If you respect others’ time, they will respect yours. This includes not being late for appointments, not spending meetings talking about useless items, getting to the point fast, bringing up issues right away, being succinct, and of course, making it easier for others to make decisions, especially when they are busier than you.
4. Stop gossiping immediately
Always act as if the person you’re talking about is right there with you. You need to respect others, even if you don’t like them. Everyone has desirable and undesirable traits. Realize this and talk from this fundamental belief. If you talk behind people, you and your reputation will quickly become irrelevant.
5. Stop being too nice
Distinguish kindness from always having to do things for people. Trying to make everyone happy won’t get you very far. Being a pushover is highly undesirable if your goal is to be respected. If you’re too nice to everyone all the time, some people might even think you’re not genuine.
6. Practice humility
You’re not always going to be right, and you’re not the best at everything. Every person you meet can teach you something. Confidence doesn’t come from a place where you’re the best. True confidence comes from understanding humility, and that every person has something unique to offer to the world.
7. Add real value
Whether you’re part of a community, a company, a group of friends, or a team, you will be respected if you always think of ways to offer value to others. Value can come in many forms, but in the end, it’s all about offering something to the world or to your community that can help by solving a problem for them. If you create something of value, people will respect you.
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