Gaining authority and respect

I enjoyed reading this article in the TES about becoming a line manager in school. Here is some good advice from that article:

Listen to others
People value the opportunity to have their say. You’re also more likely to make a better decision if you’ve canvassed the opinions of your team.

Delegate responsibility
People remember the leaders that let them take on extra responsibility, as it prepared them for being leaders themselves. It’ll also lighten your workload.

Be clear and fair
Relationships are transactional in nature: make it clear what you expect of your team and what you’ll provide in return. Never expect somebody to do something you wouldn’t do yourself.

Accept it when you’ve made a bad decision
People respect honesty - even if you’re telling them that you made a mistake. They’re also more likely to support you next time if they know that you’re prepared to admit when you’re wrong.

Don’t forget the small things
Praising and thanking your team for anything they do right, rather than focusing on what they do wrong, will encourage them to do more of what they’re doing right and engender respect along the way.