Can a leader win back respect?

We first published this article during Donald Trump’s first time in office, during which he visited UK to a…mixed response! Astonishingly (!) we are witnessing his second term as President of the USA – and the news from America brings new…surprises every day. 

When Donald Trump was greeted by then Prime Minister Theresa May, with all the formality and pomp his role as President of the USA would warrant, the more public ‘welcome’ included placards, protests and an enormous, orange baby-Trump blimp floating over London.

Trump seems to face the same varied reaction every time he steps foot out of the Whitehouse (or posts on the wildly unmonitored social media platforms he favours) but he doesn’t seem to be phased by negative attention. In fact, if his own comments are to be believed, he insists that people everywhere he goes like him very much. Extremely. Greatly. Bigly.

Is this a case of selective hearing, self-delusion, or a confidence in his own abilities as a leader that transcends the now and sees a brighter future, where he’ll win the respect of all his naysayers?

More importantly; can a leader who has lost the respect of those he leads ever win it back?

It comes down to the question of what makes a great leader – and whether charisma and making statements with more confidence than accuracy is enough to bolster you through  negative responses to your decisions.

No matter whether you’re leading a nation or a small business, the responsibility is the same – the impact that your choices and actions have on the people you lead – and nobody can please all of the people all of the time.

But if you displease most of the people, most of the time, and the response is overwhelmingly critical, is it a sign of strength to stand by your will and plough ahead, or does a leader need to take a pause, listen to their people, and change their tack?

Donald Trump is many things – but both he and his supporters insist that he’s a man who sticks to his word. Who makes a promise and battles to deliver on it (though if that promise is something he can’t actually deliver on, he still maintains he will do so, in every speech and tweet, and can be quite selective with the results he shares!)

His followers insist that this alone is enough reason to respect him…but is respect earned by sticking to your word, or by responding to feedback? By taking the way people respond to your actions on board…?

What do you respect more?

Commitment to a promise – or accountability? Rigidly ploughing ahead with what might be the wrong plan, or adaptability?

Leadership (when done well) walks a fine line between the two camps – and until you are in that position, it’s impossible to know what kind of leader you will truly be. The transition from being part of a team to being the Manager of one can be difficult – and the expertise that makes someone so successful in their previous position might not translate as well to Leadership. The respect that someone earned with that expertise can then also be lost in the process – and Leading without the respect of your team is an uphill battle.

If you, or your organisation’s leaders, find yourselves faced with these difficult transitions, we can help. Our range of Leadership and Management Development Programmes support you through the planning, process and aftermath of complex situations – from managing the difficult conversations to restructuring a new team, all of the emotional responses, and the business planning and support such situations need.

Call us today on 01234 757575 or download our guide for more information, and let us help you to maintain the respect of your team, no matter what.