#210 from R&D Innovator Volume 5, Number 4          April 1996

Strategies to Develop Loyal Staff
by Peter B. Stark

Mr. Stark is principal  of Peter B. Stark & Associates, Inc. a San Diego-based consulting firm specializing in leadership development, organizational assessments, and management consulting.  (Phone 619-451-3601) crsnyder@ukans.edu www.pbsconsulting.com

Several of the managers we talked with recently are distressed by employees whom they perceive as lacking loyalty.  When we asked managers how they know, we were intrigued—and dismayed—with their definition of loyalty.

For some managers, if an employee questions what the manager is doing or trying to accomplish, the manager sees that questioning as obvious evidence of a lack of loyalty.  For other managers, if the employee speaks the truth, and the truth is not what the manager cares to promote within the organization, this is looked upon as evidence of disloyalty.  In another instance, a manager is actually asking employees to lie.  Those who weren’t willing to lie, were described as not being team players.  Other managers try to instill fear or use threats in their attempts to breed a loyal workforce.  In another instance, a manager was perplexed that the employee was not loyal even though the manager had given him a promotion and a big raise.

From the other side, we encountered employees who stated that their managers told them that their association with certain individuals or departments in the organization was showing a lack of loyalty to their own manager.

In each of these instances, we know one thing for certain.  Asking employees to demonstrate loyalty through actions that are wrong or clearly inappropriate will not build loyalty.  Instead, it will usually erode the relationship between the manager and the employee.

Building Loyalty

Leaders are defined as “those who have people willingly following them.”  Then it is apparent that the above strategies can only result in a leadership foundation built on sand.  As the outside pressures increase, these managers find their leadership foundation crumbling...and washing out to sea.

If these strategies are ineffective, what will work to develop employees who become increasingly loyal to their leaders?  First we must define loyalty:  “unswerving in allegiance; faithful to a cause, ideal, person, or custom.”  Ultimately, true loyalty from an employee comes when the manager is able to build a relationship with the employee based upon deep trust.  This means that a manager may perceive that he or she has loyalty, but without the employee feeling a bond of trust, the two of them will never have true loyalty.

Strategies

We have seen great leaders utilize these following six strategies to develop a loyal workforce:

1.  Clarify your values.  As a manager, what do you value?  Do you value honesty?  Or do you prefer employees who will be deceptive or dishonest if that is what it takes to make you look good in the eyes of others?  When managers endorse an employee’s loyalty over honesty, it’s obvious that the manager is operating on a self-centered value system.  This value system is geared to the individual’s success rather than to the best for the employees or the organization.

2.  Trust your people.  When managers don’t trust their subordinates, they send out all sorts of signals.  Not passing along significant responsibilities and withholding important information from employees are two signals that convey a lack of confidence in, and commitment to, your employees.  When this occurs, employees perceive that they aren’t meaningful to the success of the department.  They sense that their manager isn’t to be trusted.  Without trust, there can be no true loyalty.

3.  Encourage people to question or challenge you.  When employees care enough to ask managers tough questions, it provides managers with an opportunity for honest feedback.  Ask employees questions.  Ask them about their understanding of the topic being discussed.  For example, a manager might ask, “What happens if we do change?  And, what will happen if we don’t?”  Managers who dislike being challenged are managers who lack confidence in their ability to do the job.  Managers who enjoy challenges from employees recognize that working through the difficulties presents opportunities to develop employees who are even more loyal than those who never question anything.

4.  Care about the employee first as an individual, then as an employee.  Great leaders know that when they care about employees as people first, then many positive things happen.  One of them is a loyal workforce.  A manager sent an employee home who wasn’t feeling well on a day when the project was behind on a deadline.  This placed a heavier burden on the other staff.  But the manager stated, “The most important thing is your health.  We can figure out how to accomplish everything else.”  This sent out a clear message that the individual was more important than the department’s immediate workload.

5.  Value the employee as a “gift” rather than as a “commodity.”  When an employee knows that he or she is really valued, and that you believe the employee makes a positive difference, you will find stronger bonds of loyalty.  In contrast, if employees sense that you only care that a warm body fills a particular position, that it doesn’t matter who does the work, they will feel like a commodity.  Leaders who value each employee and who also recognize each one as contributing a unique “gift” evoke stronger bonds of loyalty from employees.

6.  Be honest.  Being honest builds the trust level between manager and employee, especially when it’s difficult for the manager.  For example, a manager tells the team that the company is talking about a pending layoff due to lack of business.  Having the courage to deliver this unwelcome news demonstrates an attitude of general caring.  “I care enough about you to be honest and give you what information I currently have about company decisions.”  Managers who are consistently honest, even when it costs them something to be honest, will build a team of loyal employees.

Being a manager today is tougher than ever.  You’ve got lots of pressures, even in the best of times.  To doubt the loyalty of those you supervise will only add to those pressures.  Implement these six strategies and then, as you lead, your team will be there with you, willingly offering their support, contributions, and their loyalty.