Respect is one of the character a leader should have. It will be easier for us to respect someone who has position higher than us, but not to those who have lower position. When we have a high position, we tend to show to others that we have the power. However, that’s not what a true leader should do. What is “Respect?”. Respect is how we treat other person with care and show them through our actions that we care. We respect others by accepting, forgiving, not judging, listening and valuing their viewpoints and appreciating their personality. The hardest part for us all, not just leaders, is to show respect to the people that closed to us; like family and friends. We have the tendency to think and assume that they know us and know our characters. So it is okay to behave like who we are. That’s true that we cannot pretend in front of our dear ones, but it is also true that they deserve our respect. How are we showing respect to others? We need to be kind and considerate, practice humility, be helpful, not trying to control others, not fault-finding, apologize when making mistakes, not arrogant, not being judgemental and not gossiping.
Luke 6:31 – Do to others as you would have them do to you. If we want to earn respect from others than we have to respect them first. There is a quote that I like – “Show respect, even to people who don’t deserve it, not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours” – unknown
Lulu Setiawati