Respect: It is what we all want

Posted: July 21, 2016 | Categories: Self-Improvement

Occasionally I hear someone say, “Everyone wants to be liked”.  I have found that is not always true.  What I have found is that being respected is a universal goal.  Even the most cruel and heartless dictator wants respect.  What I have also observed is that gaining respect usually involves significant courage.  We can’t always “go with the flow”.

I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s.  Right after I completed kindergarten, my father was transferred from Philadelphia to a small town in Southeast Kansas.  He and Mom needed time to look for a house, and they dropped my sister and me off at my grandparents in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Before Dad did this, he asked if the company if they would foot the expenses for taking us to Cheyenne.  His boss said that was fine and agreed to have the company pay the expenses.

About a month later, Dad got a call from accounting, and they were questioning the Cheyenne charges on his expense account.  He explained that Bob, the boss had agreed to the charges.  The controller went to verify it with the boss, and he denied ever saying such a thing.  He lied.  Now Dad was in a fix.  Being a man of impeccable integrity, he couldn’t take the charges off his expense report.  That would indicate that he had tried to “pad” his expenses – something he would never do.  He was in a tough spot, but he knew just what to do.  He said to the controller:  “Then one of us is lying!”  He stuck to his guns, and the boss capitulated and officially approved the expenses.

Following that incident, Dad’s boss was out to get him.  As fate would have it, he moved on and my father ended up working for the company until his retirement 30 years later.   It took a ton of courage for Dad to do what he did that day.  He was willing to pay the price for maintaining his honor.  As a result, he enjoyed a great career with a high level of respect from his team members.

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