One thing that helps is to get to personally know the people up the management chain better. Respect comes easier when they know you as a person instead of just

One thing that helps is to get to personally know the people up the management chain better. Respect comes easier when they know you as a person instead of just a name on a document. I learned this the easy way at a company when our manager left and it took a long time to find a replacement so all the directors and VPs would come directly to us for questions, advice, etc.