Implications for leadership stemming from any human value, feeling or behavior are innumerable. So it is with the concept of respect. Knowing, or perhaps, tending to believe there may be seven near-synonyms and twelve distinguishable objects of respect can have an effect on how one approaches theory development, research, teaching and practice in the field of leadership. It is important to move the concept of respect toward a theory of respect. This will allow for greater understanding of why it is so intensely important to every person in every aspect of their lives.

A theory of respect will render us more likely to be able to explain the nature of what may be a universal need for certain types of respect. It will enable us to understand better how the withholding or conditional granting of certain types of respect can be an exercise in power, and how the unconditional granting of respect can be part of a pattern of non-coercive leadership. With a theory of respect in hand, research can be conducted into interpersonal and intergroup conflict, the nature of voluntary followership, bringing out the best in others, establishment and maintenance of creative and respectful organizations, and other questions of importance to leaders.

International research, inter-ethnic and interracial research would all profit from a sound theory of the nature of respect. Every type of respect would not be relevant to every research question. Yet, because concept clarification and theory development make ideas more discernable, the component parts, as well as the whole, are rendered more amenable to study.

Development of a scale to measure respect will be necessary if it is to be understood fully. It is likely that there would need to be multiple scales to address the multiple subjective and objective aspects of respect. In turn, these scales could be correlated to those which address leadership. What may result is a better understanding of how respect and leadership are linked and interdependent. Fundamental among the questions to be answered through future research are challenges to some of the assumptions inherent in this article. For example, is respect truly a universal aspect of human life? To what extent do people need some form of respect in life? To what extent does culture mediate what may be a universal need? To what extent are respect and leadership correlated? At another level, in organizational context, what are essential elements of respectful behavior in relation to patients, customers, students, employees, and others? Of course, this list is merely illustrative, and suggests only a few of the possible areas of inquiry.

Teaching and training in organizational behavior, leadership, conflict management, customer relations, student relations, employee relations, organizational theory, systems and organizational development, corrections theory, mental health therapy, family therapy, and many other fields can be enhanced when teachers and trainers hold a sound theory of respect with its distinguishable aspects. It would be necessary for teachers and trainers to determine the specific types of respect important in each situation, and to form instruction that includes such recognition.

Finally, the practice of leadership can be enhanced through understanding of the nature of respect, whether it be all or part of the Integrated Typology of Respect suggested in this article or another analysis of the concept. Further, it is important to those practicing leadership not merely to know that respect is important, but to recognize that respect has multiple aspects, that various types may be more or less important in various organizational or cultural contexts, and that respect does not mean the same to all people. Perhaps most important for practitioners, teachers and scholars of leadership, it is good to adhere to the spirit of what was said by a laudable public administrator.