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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe meaning of the word respect<\/em>, differs depending on who you ask. Ask the young man, and he\u2019d probably say things that tell us that, to him, respect is synonymous with fear. Don\u2019t f* mess with me<\/em>, he\u2019d say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But respect doesn\u2019t just have\u00a0street value. Respect is topping the list of things we value in most other places, aswell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why is respect so important to us? <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n If we were to ask the young man again, he\u2019d probably\nsay something along the lines of \u201cI just want him to show me his respect!\u201d, but\nhe would not have the reflective capabilities to \u201csee behind\u201d what\nhe\u2019s saying. Without considering one\u2019s own thoughts, values or ideas, that\u2019s\nimpossible. A possible, but hardly popular explanation, could\nbe: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Respect is important at work\u00a0too, but luckily work\u00a0life isn\u2019t\u00a0street life. We use\u00a0quite different terms\u00a0when talking about respect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The typical 40+ male manager in the\noffice will probably explain himself and his desire for respect\nsaying things like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n A specialist, for example a software tester, might\nsay: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take power<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0authority<\/em> into consideration – two words I often hear from people when\u00a0we\u00a0discuss\u00a0respect<\/em>. These words\u00a0have similar\u00a0meanings to people.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without going into a long debate\nincluding philosophers like Foucault, Marx, Bourdieu, or\nMachiavelli, I\u2019d postulate, that respect and power, no matter whether they\nare said on the streets in tough parts of the city, or in the office building\nwith it\u2019s well ordered workplace, exists on the grounds of the same\nfundamental needs for appreciation and safety. People just have different (more-or-less refined) understandings of self-understanding and politeness to help them when they reach out to the world to find that respect<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is it that we do to get the appreciation and safety that we are reaching for? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I find that we tend to do a lot of hops, skips, and jumps, some positive, some negative, but all to remain in control of our lives and to ensure the appreciation which lies in being followed and in belonging to a group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the pursuit of these things,\u00a0however, we often forget that the appreciation, being followed by others, or the feeling of safety, is not something we can\u00a0\u201ccatch\u201d\u00a0and then\u00a0control.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In psychodynamic terms we have a term for the appreciation and safety we desire:\u00a0Authorization<\/em>.\u00a0In that thinking, appreciation and safety is not something we have, rather it\u2019s\u00a0a process flowing to us from\u00a0people\u00a0around us. In other words: If you\u2019re a manager, forget the idea of getting\u00a0authority through\u00a0management and control.\u00a0Rather, it\u00a0will\u00a0come from employees and colleagues on your level, authorizing<\/em>\u00a0you to be\u00a0their\u00a0manager in the daily office life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, we can say that leadership \u2013 even\nmanagement \u2013 is not a position or a role, but a process, and being\nfollowed by the people around you, happens because they authorize<\/em> you\nto lead them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a saying in Danish: You can force the horse to the crib, but you can\u2019t force it to drink<\/em>. Without the authorization from others, you can jump and skip, scream and shout, but it doesn\u2019t give you neither respect nor power. In the best cases, threatening people might give you an illusion of respect and power, but it will be like junk food: It may taste good right there, it may seem to work (make you feel full), but after a short while, you\u2019ve burnt the energy\u2026 the difference between respect\/power and authorization\/authority is the same. The sustainable is in the latter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Become what you eat<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people know quite well what gives you good energy, and what is bad for your body. But I sometimes meet people who can\u2019t see that very difference between power and authority when being and working with others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People who know me well know how much I like fat, sugar and salt. My wife says this: \u201cOle, all that greasy food, it\u2019s just so much you!\u201d But that doesn\u2019t mean that I don\u2019t know how to eat healthy, or that I don\u2019t (sometimes) follow the advice of the health board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Transferring that thinking to the workplace, it\nmeans that we can find ourselves in situations, where we want to (or sometimes\nhave to) \u201ceat the junk food\u201d, be authoritative and use power, but the\nthing is that to avoid those things to give what I might call\n\u201corganizational blood clots or heart attacks\u201d, the main ingredient of\nwhat you do, must be of a different and more healthy kind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This, of course, leads to the question: What\nis healthy organizational food?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your own food-plan<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The short answer to the question is: It\u2019s filled with\nrelations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Relations are the stable and sustainable calories in the organization. They contain fibres, proteins and vitamins. They are the healthy stuff – like vegetables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What this means is that it is through the way you work\nand care for your relations, that you can build the groundwork for the\nappreciation and following that gives you the authorization to lead\nothers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many types of relations, just like vegetables. And our needs are different, even when it comes to the vegetables, vitamins,\u00a0fibers,\u00a0etc.\u00a0that we need. In the same way, there are differences between the relational elements you need to grow and care for. So, to avoid just shooting in the blind and perhaps only be right in 50% of the cases, an exploration of your relational dietary needs,\u00a0is worth doing. A value question to ask yourself is: Which \u201crelational vegetables\u201d do\u00a0you\u00a0need?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (A bit about Authoritarian power, Authority, Autorizations and wegetables.) He should show me some respect! The young man in the oversized parka is shouting at the police officer. Behind the officer is another young man in a similarly sized jacket. The hormone pumped biceps and the ownership of the popular jacket are the obvious symbols of something \u2013 but what? The meaning of the word respect, differs depending on who you ask. 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