Loyal. What a fine word. It brings to mind legions of employees, lined up cheering when new memos are released via email blast, right?
Oh, wait. I mean…
Loyal. It brings to mind employees sacrificing until it hurts so a company can make draconian changes that punish all but a precious few.
Um, no. Just a second…
Loyal. Dogs are loyal. There, nailed it.
Actually, People Are Loyal Too
I have been blessed to work in some terrific organizations, but none more full of truly loyal employees than this one. Corporate cultures are all different, but I’ve found after several decades in the healthcare industry, that many employees are “loyal” to their organizations because of the jobs they have serving patients.
Think about that for a second. They are loyal, to the work, not necessarily the organization. Hmmm. I’m guessing that’s not the employee engagement survey spin that gets pushed to the team?
But, Why?
I believe there is a far more simple solution to moving employees from ‘committed to their job’ (which in healthcare means they can have the same job at nearly every organization in your community) than what most organizations are willing to admit.
“When leaders are awkward in their communication…when they focus so exclusively on a numeric result and abandon the reality that people achieve results…and assume an air of elitism that because of their more senior title they suddenly know how to do everyone’s job better…their exists no opportunity for loyalty.”
How About You
Have you taken a long hard look into the mirror and admitted that you, too have fallen into the leadership trap? Get over yourself, start acting like a normal human being, and leverage the immense brain power, experience, and creativity of your teams.
You might find a few loyal employees just waiting for the chance to show you how they really feel.
I’d love to hear from you.
