7 Ways to Make Employees Feel Respected, According to Research

有一种行为是所有优秀领导力的基础：尊重每一个人。这是任何关系的基础，然而许多管理者都很难表达出来。

There is one behavior that underlies all good leadership: treating everyone with respect. It’s the fundamental foundation of any relationship, and yet many managers struggle to express it.

我们在2022年面向4849名员工收集的数据表明，只有4%的人感到不被尊重，而86%的人能感受到尊重。乍一看，这十分令人鼓舞。这些数字看起来不错。但是，在我们看来，4%还是太高了。大约每25个同事中就有一个人觉得自己不受尊重，觉得自己没有归属感，甚至觉得自己低人一等。很难想象有这种感觉的人能够把工作做到最好或发挥他们的潜力。

Data we collected in 2022 from 4,849 employees indicated that only 4% felt disrespected, whereas 86% felt respected. At first blush, this sounds encouraging. Those may seem like good numbers. But, in our view, 4% is far too high. That’s roughly one out of 25 colleagues who feel they are not respected, that they don’t belong, or perhaps even feel inferior. It’s hard to imagine that people who feel this way are able to do their best work or reach their potential.

管理者和领导者如何更一以贯之地表现出尊重呢？我们的研究提供了一些关于日常行为的提示，这些行为可以增加尊重的感觉。

How can managers and leaders demonstrate respect more consistently? Our research gives some hints on the everyday actions that increase feelings of respect.

许多领导者积极努力地雇佣来自不同背景的团队成员，检查自己无意识的偏见，并确保自己愿意听取不同的观点和意见。另一些领导者则认为自己对每个人都是一视同仁的，完全没有意识到他们存在明显的盲点。我们之前的研究表明，许多领导者倾向于低估或高估他们在这方面的能力。

Many leaders actively work hard to hire team members from diverse backgrounds, check their unconscious biases, and ensure they’re open to hearing diverse perspectives and opinions. Others go through the motions assuming they treat everyone equally, completely unaware of their glaring blind spots. Our prior research showed many leaders tend to under- or overrate their skill in this area.

为建立尊重的基础，领导者必须意识到，他们可能没有尽一切努力表明他们重视多样性，并明确表示他们重视差异性。

To establish a groundwork of respect, leaders must be aware that they may not be doing everything they can to show that they value diversity, and make clear that differences are valued.

Staying in Touch with Issues and Concerns of Individuals

虽然你可能不会在工作中交到最好的朋友，但你需要保持一定程度的熟悉度来建立尊重。当你是最后一个发现员工或同事正在痛苦挣扎时，你可能会试图将其合理化为领导者的通病之一。毕竟，你怎么可能知道每个人身上发生的每一件事，尤其是当权力不平衡产生社交距离的时候？

While you may not be at work to find your best friend, you need to maintain a level of familiarity to establish respect. When you are the last to find out about an employee or colleague who is struggling, you might be tempted to rationalize that as one of the downsides of being a leader. After all, how can you know everything that’s going on with everyone, especially when the power imbalance creates social distance?

实际上，你做不到。但是你应该努力传达这样的信息：如果员工想要分享一些敏感问题或深切的担忧，你会随时为他们服务。设定一个目标，尽可能多地与人保持联系，看看他们做得怎么样，并重申你的承诺，在他们需要的时候支持他们。问这样的问题：“我们是否能让你平衡工作和个人生活？”或者“你的家人现在过得怎么样？”这些话题可以引发更私人的对话。用这种方式与人保持联系，传达出你对员工的尊重。

Realistically, you can’t. But you should be making an effort to convey that you are there for employees who may want to share sensitive issues or deep concerns. Set a goal to stay in contact with people as much as you can, to check in on how they’re doing, and to reiterate your commitment to supporting them when needed. Asking questions such as, ”Are we making it possible for you to balance your work and your personal life?” or “How is your family doing at this moment?” can invite a more personal conversation.

Being Trusted

在对信任的研究中，我们发现，如果你的团队中有一个人不信任你，这将显著降低团队其他成员的信任水平。这是一种会传染的情绪。

In our research on trust, we discovered that if one person on your team distrusts you, it will significantly lower the level of trust from the rest of the team. This is an emotion that’s contagious.

我们知道，信任可以通过三个因素来增强：积极的关系、分享专业知识和一致性。当你尊重他人时，无论他们的祖籍、语言、文化、宗教如何，你都在强化你们之间的关系，这会大大增强他人对你的信任。

We know that trust is enhanced by three factors: positive relationships, sharing expertise/knowledge, and consistency. When you treat people with respect, regardless of their ancestry, language, culture, religion, or sexual orientation, you are enhancing your relationship, which greatly increases the trust others have in you.

Resolving Conflicts

即使是几个团队成员之间的小冲突也会对整个团队的能量产生负面影响，并成为挫折感的来源，滋生不尊重的感觉。很多时候，当领导者注意到团队成员之间的冲突时，他们发誓不会干预——“我会让他们自己解决冲突；我不需要参与其中”——但他们并没有始终如一地采用这种方法。

Even a small conflict between a few team members can negatively impact the energy of a whole group and become a source of frustration that encourages feelings of disrespect. Too often, when leaders notice conflicts between team members, they vow not to intervene — “I’ll let them work out the conflict themselves; no need for me to get involved” — but then they don’t apply that approach consistently.

选择性地维持和平意味着对一些人的尊重和对另一些人的不尊重。团队中的冲突就像森林中的火苗，如果及早发现，可以很容易地扑灭，但如果忽视，可能会造成重大损失。当冲突发生时，领导者需要迅速解决。一位值得尊敬的领导者不会退让，而是愿意参与解决冲突。

Selective peacemaking conveys respect for some and a lack of respect for others. Conflicts in a team are like a small fire in the forest that, if caught early, can be easily put out but, when ignored, can create significant damage. Leaders need to resolve conflicts quickly when they occur. A respectful leader does not step back but willingly engages in mending conflicts.

当结果变得比提供结果的人更重要时，人们会感到不被尊重。优秀的领导者会在取得成果和成果产出者所面临的现实情况之间取得平衡。组织和领导者必须倾听这些诉求，建立一种支持工作与生活平衡的文化。微软首席人事官凯瑟琳•霍根写道：“你不能根据需要冻结或解冻企业文化——它每天都在形成，不是通过某种方式，而是通过人事流程、承诺、经理责任、招聘和奖励来实现的。”

When results become more important than the people who deliver them, people feel disrespected. In most situations, this only requires making small exceptions for people (when kids get sick, accidents happen, or someone needs a mental health break), but the impact on satisfaction and engagement will be significant.

征求他人意见这个简单的行为是表达尊重的有力方式。但你不能只是提出问题——你还必须倾听和参与。当一个领导者愿意倾听不同观点，并深入研究与他人有关的问题时，他们就会表现出对团队成员的重视。你不必认为这个问题很重要（你甚至可能认为它微不足道），或者他们的观点是有效的。但抛开这些反应，真诚地倾听并提出问题，也能传达出尊重。

The simple act of asking another person for their opinion is a powerful way to communicate respect. But you can’t just ask — you also have to listen and engage. When a leader is willing to hear different perspectives and dig into problems that concern others, they show they value those team members. You don’t have to think the issue is important (you might even think it’s trivial) or their viewpoint is valid to do this. But moving past those reactions to genuinely listen and ask questions conveys respect.

你可以通过积极倾听与你相反的意见来进一步提高尊重感。这意味着，“我对不同的思维方式持开放态度，我想了解更多”，以及“即使我们可能有不同的观点，我也很尊重你。”

You can further enhance respect by actively listening to opinions that are contrary to yours. This conveys, “I’m open to a different way of thinking and I want to understand more” and “I hold you in high regard even though we may have differing views.”

直接而诚实的反馈可以让人们感到被尊重，只要它以正确的方式传递。它应该公平地反映这个人的表现。如果一个员工90%的工作是正确的，10%的工作是错误的，那么诚实的反馈将是90%的积极反馈，只有10%的纠正反馈。在很多情况下，领导者给出0%的积极反馈和10%的纠正反馈，这意味着领导者关心或注意的都是各种各样的错误。这种指出负面行为的方式并没有积极反馈来平衡，容易让人觉得不被尊重。

Direct and honest feedback can make people feel respected, as long as it’s delivered in the right way. It ought to fairly reflect the person’s performance. If an employee does 90% of their work correctly and 10% incorrectly, honest feedback would be 90% positive and only 10% corrective. In many cases, leaders give 0% positive and 10% corrective feedback, which implies that all the leader cares about or notices are errors or mistakes. This pointing out of negative behavior — without balancing it with positive feedback as well — makes people feel disrespected.

当然，尊重对不同的人意味着不同的东西，你领导的员工可能比其他人更关心这些行为。关键是要考虑所有七个方面，然后选择一到两个你认为对员工至关重要的，并找到切实可行的方法来更多地做出这种行为。

Of course, respect can mean different things to different people, and the people you lead may care more about some of these behaviors than others. The key is to consider all seven, then select one or two that you believe will matter to your employees, and find authentic ways to do more of that behavior.

优秀的领导者是受人尊敬的，但更重要的是，他们会采取深思熟虑的方式来表达对员工的尊重。

Great leaders are well respected, but more importantly, they take deliberate, thoughtful steps to show respect for their employees.

关键词：领导力

杰克·曾格和约瑟夫·福克曼分别是领导力发展咨询公司曾格福克曼（Zenger/Folkman）的CEO和总裁。

何婧 | 译    周强 | 编校