Respect is a Two Way Street

I once coached rec league football, I did it for thirteen years. Flag football and tackle from ages 6 to 14. Most of that time was with boys ages 10-14, probably some of the toughest times young men have growing up. Both for them and for us around them. They are at that age they are trying to find themselves, trying to determine who they are....what they are......and torture many of us that have to interact with them.

Football is about discipline. Training and teaching an individual to do his part in an overall scheme. An overall scheme that has many other parts. Each individual does his part to the best of their ability and when everyone does this we have success. That is TEAM WORK.

It isn't always necessary for each player to know and understand everything that their teammate knows and understands. Just that they understand their role. A role that the coach has provided them to do. And when it is done well....their role in the team can quite possibly grow. But that takes discipline. Each piece of the team, regardless of the position or that player's experience, is important.

Now each young man that walked out on my practice field for the first time offered me up a challenge. They tested me. Did I know what I was doing? Or was I just a dad out there? How well did I play football? How well was I organized as a coach? Did I have a game plan? Was I a winning coach? Who was this COACH?

I believed that just because my title was coach.....that didn't mean that I had the respect automatically from these young men. I had to earn it. So therefore I had to work for it. Likewise, they had to earn my respect. Respect was expected by and from everyone. Over those first few weeks of practice at the beginning of each season we all quickly understood and appreciated each others role on the team. The older returning players on the team understood and knew my plan as a coach. They paved the way for the younger players as an example. The younger players proved their talent and skills to the others. Respect was born.

Discipline demands respect. Respect demands discipline.

This is what we found each year out on the football field. This is what we have often forgot in the work place. We have forgotten how to respect one another. We have forgotten how to appreciate each other's position on the team. I'm still coaching. Just as an employer now. Still working to earn what is expected. 

Everyone on our team is just as important as those players that were out on the football field. Oh it may not be as exciting as defending a touchdown or saving a tackle or even orchestrating a Hail Mary pass to the end zone as time expires to win the game.......but it is still important. Just as everyone on that football team expected each other to do their part for ultimate success, we in the business world expect the same of our teammates. Without that we cannot expect to succeed. Without respect of each other's talents or roles we cannot expect to achieve our goals.

Respect is a two way street and should be expected from everyone in a team environment. Respect has no boundaries. It has no restrictions, limitations or exemptions. It doesn't matter if you are young and inexperienced or old and years of practice. It doesn't matter if you have had years of education or how much you paid for that education. It just matters that you understand and appreciate what it offers. Whether you are in the battle trenches side by side, lined up on a hash mark in the middle of a field or sitting in a cubicle adjacent to each other......teamwork demands success.

In our field of architecture, we continually learn new things. There are always new products and materials that come out each year. Technology is ever changing and teams need to stay up on the latest to be successful. However, with the invention of all things new, we still harvest respect.

I have always COACHED to our office that just because you went to college for four or five or even more years that you know everything. Just because you have worked in an office for umpteen years and write specifications and draw details for all these products doesn't mean you know everything. Doesn't mean you know more than the guy who installs tile for a living....or the guy that puts together metal panels....or hangs drywall. Because they do that specific thing most everyday and have done it most every way. I bet they know more........RESPECT THE POSITION.

RESPECT requires DISCIPLINE 

DISCIPLINE encourages TEAMWORK

TEAMWORK rewards with SUCCESS

TEAM IONIC

"Creating places and space that enrich the lives of those who use them."

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

www.ionicdezigns.com