PMP credential holders disclose the top eight ways to gain and sustain respect from team members. 

by Jeffrey Steele

Garnering respect from direct reports isn’t always the easiest task for project managers. It’s a proactive process that requires significant time and specific techniques. Experienced Project Management Professional (PMP^®) credential holders discuss eight ways to ensure respect.

1. Be Authentic. What sets leaders apart is their willingness to take time and genuinely connect with their project team. “Leaders don’t simply dole out tasks, they take an interest in the personalities and interests of the people following them,” Mr. Irwin says. Simply stopping by a team member’s office or desk to ask how they enjoyed their weekend can go a long way toward building rapport, he adds.
2. Don’t Play Favorites. Don’t show preferential treatment to one member of the team and expect to garner respect. “A project manager catering to favorites will rapidly suffer loss of respect from the other team members,” Mr. Kandadai says.
3. Stick Up for the Team. Respected project managers protect and act in the best interests of their team members, Mr. Irwin says. Whenever possible, leaders should demonstrate that they defend their team members and stick up for their work when necessary, he adds.
4. Engage in Difficult Conversations. The ability to demonstrate courage in the face of difficult situations is a trait of a respected leader. “Leaders attack issues head on,” Mr. Irwin says. At times, project managers must engage in conversations that address an individual’s performance. “When this occurs, be prepared to dig for the root cause of the problem,” he says. “Rarely, if ever, will you find someone does not want to do a good job. Usually, there are other circumstances causing the situation.”
5. Be Proactive. Respected project managers undertake risk analyses, anticipate potential problems and are prepared with solutions when problems or crises arise, Mr. Kandadai says.
6. Enhance Team Members’ Self-Respect. By working to build team members’ confidence in their own abilities, project managers elevate the respect they receive, Mr. Kandadai says. For example, sometimes a team member will approach a leader with a problem the leader is not equipped to handle. “If [the leader] puts a small group of knowledgeable people together to solve the problem swiftly, he would still gain respect though he himself could not [solve the problem] on his own,” Mr. Kandadai says.
7. Be Human. No leader is faultless, and working with a “perfect manager” is de-motivating to the team. “Let people see you’re human, and allow them to be human, too,” Mr. Oschadleus says. “Imperial” project managers who do not work alongside their reports are less effective.
8. Take Your Time. Respect is not a commodity that can be bought off the shelf. It’s only earned over time if leaders treat each team member like the person they’d like them to become, Mr. Oschadleus says. “It’s not the big things you do that influence people, it’s the way you are in everyday, unconscious moments of choice,” he says.