What loyal employees look for in leaders


  • March 8, 2016
  • /   Shannon Nickinson
  • /   training-development

Loyal employees are a businesses best asset.

So how can you be the kind of boss who inspires loyalty — which in turn translates into greater productivity, efficiency and a better workplace?

TalentCulture: The World of Work posted a story about the five leadership behaviors that inspire loyalty. They closely mirror the message that Studer Community Institute founder Quint Studer delivered at our recent training on leading and managing change.

TalentCulture's key points:

All great leaders know getting there is the challenge, of course. Here are 5 behaviors for leaders and hiring managers to adopt when struggling to keep employees happy and loyal:

1) Tell the truth. Not everyone is a star. Pick out those with leadership or other valued talent potential and nurture them. This will come back to the business as these individuals, in turn, nurture other workers.

2) Communicate roles and responsibilities. Provide a path to success not only for those with leadership promise but for all employees. Sometimes this will mean difficult changes, but remember the most important skill of a leader: never surprise an employee with bad news. Have a development plan for all, and a get-well plan for those whose performance lags. Make sure everyone knows the plan.

3) Create a workplace culture that values real people relationships. For many employees, workgroup relationships and relationships between managers and workers drive engagement and loyalty more effectively than foosball machines, logo T-shirts, and Thirsty Thursday gatherings.

4) Be fair and open. This does not mean treat everyone equally – it means have transparent processes for managing and leading. Employees are more likely to respond positively to change when the process used to manage change is fair.

5) Model the behaviors you seek. Just as the headmaster at the high school did, accept your responsibility as a leader and act with engagement, commitment and responsibility. Do this every day.

Reading that list is easy. Putting those steps in place is the challenge that many small businesses and nonprofits struggle with. SCI training can help. Our next session is on performance coaching with Quint and is April 6.

Details on that session will be coming soon.

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