LEADERSHIP
Loyalty : Leaders Asset , Team ’ s Pride !
By Prof . Dr . Ajit Patil
With increasingly flatter structures and an individualistic society , developing employees with a strong sense of loyalty has become more important now than ever before . Why is employee loyalty so important ? Flatter organization structures develop a need for teams that are mission-driven , need lesser supervision , and support .
Competitors are poaching good employees for survival and growth in the hypercompetitive environment . Developing a strong sense of loyalty can help to fight their invasion . Financial pressures and growing employee aspirations lead to increased employee turnover . Remote working and work from home are posing challenges to develop team dynamics . Loose bonds are also weakening loyalty . Thanks to leaner structures , organizations pay a heavy price for every attrition .
Are leaders giving enough attention to developing loyal employees ? What challenges are involved in creating and maintaining loyal employees ? Developing a team of loyal employees and making them deliver results , is the leadership challenge . Loyalty is the rope which ties organization structure vertically .
Organization structure shows positions and formal relationships . Loyalty is the adhesive that firms up the relationships and holds the structure tighter . It complements formal relationships with emotional relationships , transforming formal organizations into extended family . Loyalty is the reinforcement that makes the organization structure solid concrete , strong , and all weather-proof .
Loyalty also provides a ' soft-touch ' to the otherwise hard structure . It is a kind of cushion on the hard surface that makes the contact a pleasant experience . Loyalty embodies purpose . The leader represents the purpose . Loyalty to the leader is a commitment to the mission .
Loyal team members develop faith in leadership . A leader develops confidence and trust in his team members who are loyal . With loyalty , the structure goes beyond commands and demands . They get forged into morale , motivation , and inspiration .
Great organizations are built by sweat and blood . They need selfless contributions and sacrifices . Leaders have to make performers good team players . They have to develop loyalty for the organization , its mission and vision , and for the leadership too . Making loyal employees perform is equally difficult as making performing employees loyal .
Loyalty provides a human face to the organization . It creates close-knit families . The team can see what the leader sees . The leader ' s perspective is understood better and faster . Leaders see the painpoints of the team members and feel their pain . Understanding among the team improves exponentially , both vertically and horizontally , when loyalty sprouts in the organization . Loyalty brews team dynamics , developing empathy on part of the team and sympathy on the part of leaders . The structure dons a humane-face .
Loyalty Develops Telepathy
A loyal team develops telepathy , the best communication channel . They don ' t wait for the leader ' s pronouncement to get into action . They feel the decree rather than listening to it . Command of the leader is replaced by the will of the team . The pace of operations of the organization accelerates and it overpowers the competitors .
Loyalty Develops Ownership
The loyal employees take the onus and transmit ownership . For loyal employees , the wish of the leader is their command . They read their leader like a book and interpret his thoughts , expressions and actions flawlessly . Loyal members care to maintain proper communication with the leader . They don ' t give surprises to the leader . They hardly need any follow-up . A leader is freed from worries and can rely on loyal team members better .
Loyal employees develop a higher degree
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