Project: SuPEERiors...Respect in The Workplace

Can your boss be your friend? Or is that bull? Is that just sucking up? Is it just a grown up case of teacher’s pet?

Sure you may see them as your peers and there may even be a sense of genuine camaraderie – he or she is a person whom you trust and can fully rely on both on and off the work campus. You’ve been given the privilege and honor to call them by their first name. You know the family and are invited to the annual Fourth of July BBQ.

But where’s that fine line? How to co-exist with your colleagues who may not have that intimate relationship or turn off that friendship when it comes time to take instructions or maybe reprimands?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We know what it means to Aretha Franklin, but what does it mean to you, your company culture and most importantly, your suPEERior?

Here are a few ways to recognize the fundamentals of respect and to implement them no matter the relationship status of any of your peers:

• Remember Your Position: That whole pubescent catchphrase, “You’re not the boss of me?” Yeah, you need to leave that at the door when you enter the building. It is that simple. Remember who hired you, who signs your paycheck, who has ownership of the title and who has the experience. You have never been in their position, so it does not matter whether you think you are right, they have the executive rights.

• Take Responsibility: If you mess up, fess up. It is the lesser preferred avenue of honesty, but it is the type of integrity that will not only keep the relationship strong, but will enable the office momentum to stay strong. Rather than delaying the progress of the project by trying to figure out whodunit, or trying to resolve the aftermath once an issue is found, if you mess up, fess up.

•  Do Not Complain: No one likes it. It makes you look bad, the company look bad, and your boss look bad.

• Read The Employee Handbook and Corporate Emails: There are reasons rules are written, and emails are sent. Maybe some of the mandates are outdated, but being aware of the culture of your company and the history is vital to the representation.

• Ask For Advice: It goes back to that whole experience thing. Whether it is a dissatisfied client, a disruptive inner office conflict or performance review, ask your boss how you can improve the situation and no matter what the cold hard facts are, face them and conquer them

It can be a team of two or two-thousand; no matter how large a company can grow respect is essential to any relationship.

-The Green Couch