Respect - what does it look like and sound like?
Have you ever really thought about this question? What answers would you give? Do you think you do a great job with respecting your clients and colleagues - more importantly do they?
I didn't come up with these questions about what does respect look like and sound like on my own. I recently answered these questions for homework that was given to me by my daughter's principal. That's right at age 40 I found myself doing homework - guess you never stop learning and always have opportunities to learn no matter how old you are.
I think this exercise (homework) gave me many benefits
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A wonderful opportunity to share with my daughter my perspective on what respect is - how it looks and sounds
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Reminded me of how I can be more aware of how I come across to others
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How I can be an example to her in how I respect her, our family and those that we encounter in our every day lives.
Here are are some of the answers to those questions that we came up with as a family:
Sounds Like: Looks Like:
It got me thinking about respect and how it relates to how we conduct ourselves in our businesses.
We all know we should respect others - we're taught this as children and many of us must adhere to industry code of ethics but often we lose sight of just how respect looks and sounds like and we can find ourselves not respecting someone without even realizing it. Sometimes the things we say can simply rattle someone to their core even if that was not our intention.
This quote sums it up nicely:
"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me...All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." Jackie Robinson
So what descriptions come to your mind when you think about respect?
Responsibility
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Respond promptly to all inquiries and requests and meet deadlines
Educate
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Educate, advise and guide our clients
Sensitivity
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Schedule and keep appointments or make necessary arrangements to change
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Be aware of cultural differences
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Remember that our clients are asking you to handle a very important and often sensitive area of their lives.
Professional
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In our appearance and our communications
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In our promises we make to our clients - make them and keep them (know what you're capable of delivering - see my previous post for more areas to explore on this topic)
Ethics
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Follow the Code of Ethics of the NAR
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Communicate
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Communicate in a timely and thoughtful manner and do it often
Treatment of Others
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Treat our clients and colleagues the same way we expect to be treated (in person and online)
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Care about them and show it in all your interactions
Respect is...Listening, caring about other's feelings, keeping an open mind, agreeing and knowing it's ok to disagree, seeking to understand, being honest, direct, and lifting a person up.
As you can see respect comes in many forms and at the very least I hope this post gets you thinking about how your words and actions come across to those you interact with each and every day and will be a reminder that these things have an affect on your clients and colleagues (and your business) and will allow you to model for others exactly how you want to be treated.
Being aware of how we respect our clients and our colleagues can make all the difference in our business - the reputationof it AND the growth of it.
I will leave you with this final quote:
"Our inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed or taken away. Every person has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. We all can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow toward our fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. We each deserve this and we all can extend it to others." Author Unknown
Have some thoughts to share on the topic of Respect? Feel free to add your thoughts and perspective on how it relates to your business and life.
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