When Steve Jobs died in 2011, many investors wondered how the company could continue without his singular presence. But others knew better. As Eric Jackson wrote in The Street in 2012, shortly after the death of Jobs, “Apple could have the most amazing management team in the world, but none of us would talk about it, because Steve Jobs was that good a CEO.” A charismatic leader and skilled public performer, Jobs had also assembled a potent executive team. Jackson noted that six stars stood in the shadow of Jobs: Tim Cook, Eddy Cue, Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, Jonathan Ive and Peter Oppenheimer. Despite worries by some after Jobs’ death, they were all still at Apple.

In fact, as of this writing eight years later, four of the six—Cook, Cue, Schiller, and Ive—are still at Apple, which has a market value of $726 billion after briefly hitting $1 trillion in August 2018.

To win the innovation race, respect, which is a central component of the servant leadership model, must be married to connect to produce the necessary agility that allows robust growth. You can have all the respect in the world for your leader, but if there’s poor communication, then the organization will fail to innovate and respond poorly to change.

The Importance of Respect

To stay ahead as an innovation leader, you need to:

1. Earn the respect you deserve.

What are you doing to earn the respect of your subordinates and colleagues? How can you strengthen the culture of respect in your organization—and thereby boost innovation and productivity?

2. Examine your own behavior to ensure you’re not doing dumb things to destroy your career.

Knowing yourself is one of the hardest things you can do. Do you invite honest unfiltered feedback? Do you respond to your employees new ideas? Are you realistic in your demands? Do you provide your share of positive results?

3. Know that respect is multifaceted and has many different components.

When dealing with colleagues and subordinates, be sure you…

Respect their time. When you ask a subordinate to do something, make sure that you’re providing not only the tools to do the task—the computer and the desk—but also the time to do the task. You want them to be able to focus and do the very best job possible. And when dealing with peers, don’t waste their time with frivolous chitchat or pointless gossip. If you visit someone in their office, don’t overstay your welcome!

Respect their contributions. Everyone contributes to the mission in their own way. Sometimes the success of a project can hinge upon a small innovation, so be sure to give credit where credit is due, even to people who aren’t doing the high-profile, glamorous jobs.

Respect their dignity. Today’s workplaces are populated by people from all cultures and walks of life, including the disabled and our nation’s wounded warriors. Keep a positive organizational culture and acknowledge the value of human dignity.

Respect their independence. As a winning leader, your job is to hire the very best people, ensure they’re trained properly, and then leave them alone to meet their goals! Keep tabs on their progress but don’t breathe down their necks. Progress reports should be regularly scheduled and brief. Ask two questions: 1) Are you on track to meet your objective? 2) If not, what can we do to help you get on schedule?

Respect their differences. Multiple viewpoints should be a source of strength. A variety of skill sets should create a strong tapestry of competence. Innovations come from individuals who are thinking out of the box. Your job as an innovation leader is to harness this energy and bring your team to a consensus.

Respect their individual abilities. As an innovation leader, you have positions that need workers. To fill each role, it’s your responsibility to find an employee with the appropriate experience and aptitude. For entry-level jobs, find entry-level people. For sales jobs, find outgoing people who love to interact with prospects. For finance jobs, find people who are highly ethical and have the right training. And remember, as an inovation leader, while you may not personally possess the requisite skill for every role, you need to understand each of them.