At work at times I run a fairly large team. This past week was the busiest day of the whole year. I was exhausted, more importantly my team was exhausted. And during this extremely high pressure time one of my employees, lets call him Bob, was more disrespectful to me than anyone has ever been. The specific person is a very smart, hardworking individual and usually, I count on him to be a strong member of my team. But during a meeting where I was handing out tasks he, in front of all of his coworkers, flat refused to do his job. Said "I'm not doing that" among other things. And then continued to be disrespectful for the remainder of the evening. Every member of my team apologized for his behavior. Everyone that is, excluding Bob. I was forced to take disciplinary action. And it hit me hard. I've never truly had to deal with such gross disrespect. From a trusted member of my team? I was shocked, hurt and so beyond disappointed. Insubordination in this extreme is taken very seriously. Had it been any other leader he would have been asked to leave. Instantly the entire vibe of the room changed. I work with my team. I respect them always and only ever ask them to work as hard as I work. I always take the most difficult tasks. I never ask anything of my team that I would not do myself. It's a point of pride. And i've earned an amount of trust because of it. On one hand I feel so blessed that my team so throughly has my back. Especially enough to be angry at someone not respecting my position. On the other hand i'm forced to experience in a whole new way the negative effects that being disrespectful creates. I am hurt. the experience forced me to wonder how many people i've hurt by being disrespectful? No one is perfect I certainly have a temper and I most definitely get hangry. How many times have I unintentionally made someone feel as crappy as I did in that moment?
Be respectful has been hammered into my brain since I was a very small child. The rule was on the wall in every classroom I ever spent time in. Respect others was one of my Mom's favorite commands. But I'll never forget when the lesson truly hit home. I was 8ish and on my first real baseball team, my Dad caught me sassing my coach and refused to let me play until I apologized. That lecture is cemented into my mind for life. How you treat others matters. Being respectful is crucial. No matter the circumstances. Your mood should never effect your manners. And no matter what being respectful will always get you ahead. You don't have to like everyone or agree with them, but respecting everyone is vital. Moving forward I hope to take this as a lesson. To hold on to respect and strive to be respectful even when i'm being disrespected. It does pay to be the bigger person. This situation made that fact crystal clear for me and I truly value to the lesson even if it was not a pleasant feeling.
xo Sam
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