R E S P E C T

So I read a blog of an aquantaince the other day on respect...and I started thinking back to when I went to a leadership seminar for a company I worked for a while back. The first morning of a 4 day retreat was spent on respect. The leaders take was that there are different types of respect.
The most basic kind is what most of us probably think of as good manners. Greeting other people we meet instead of ignoring them, paying attention when someone is talking to us, waiting for our turn to talk--you know all the things about social manners we (hopefully!) learned in our early years.

He stated the next type of respect was one we give based on position. For example--even if we dislike a world leader, if we were to meet that person most of us would still be polite, considerate, and give him/her the honors due the office. Same goes on smaller scale for things like bosses at work, leaders in churches, communities, teams, etc.

The last type of respect comes from knowing a person. After hearing about what they have done, seeing how they respond to problems, finding out what makes them tick. If these things make a positive impression on us, giving that person more respect, more of ourselves is much easier.

I liked his summing up: the first is one we should do just because it makes us a better person. It is part of what defines us as "good and civil beings". The second is one we should do because it will help us succeed in life. Knowing when to give deference can be the difference in getting a job, keeping a job, making a team, being a good citizen. Learning how to determine who merits that extra respect gives us a chance to choose friends wisely, find mentors in life, and know who to turn to when times are not good.

I think I've always been good at the first two. The third....I'm still trying to figure out. ;)