By Jack Perry
Loyalty is a characteristic that is often measured on a degree. You might say, “I’m loyal when it comes to the biggest piece of the pie, but I’m not loyal when it comes to speaking poorly about the boss.” Or, “I’m a loyal fan of that sports team, except when they play poorly.” Obviously, the more loyal you are to someone or something, the more you are willing to stick by them when times get tough.
Loyalty is closely related to integrity, which means carrying out a commitment that you made, long after the spirit and the mood of that initial commitment have faded. In other words, you stand by your decision because of that commitment. When you’re loyal to a friendship, you stand up for your friend. You don’t let people talk negatively about him or her, and you always find positive things to say about your friend. When you’re loyal to your company, you don’t bad mouth your boss outside of work, you don’t patronize your company’s competition, and you don’t steal office supplies.
Without being loyal yourself, how can you expect consistent loyalty from your manager, fellow team members, clients, prospects, and friends? In reality, you can’t. A lack of loyalty has a negative impact on your reputation.
What Can Loyalty Do For You?
If you aren’t loyal, people aren’t going to trust you. Without trust, you can’t build personal or professional relationships. So when you’re up for a promotion against an equally qualified person, the person with more loyalty will win out. And when regimes change within companies, the new leadership will turn to people who have been loyal to them from the start. They’ll know they can trust these loyal team members to keep them informed and operate in their best interests.
When you’re loyal, you will attract other like-minded people who value loyalty. At work, your manager will give you the benefit of the doubt whenever issues arise, and you might even be offered better or additional opportunities to take your career further. Your clients and prospects will respect and reward your loyalty, and you’ll like yourself better.
How Loyal Are You?
You can gauge your own loyalty with self-examination. Take time every so often to analyze your actions and ask yourself a few questions. You can make your own list, or use some of the following questions to keep your loyalty in check.
Are you loyal only when it benefits you?
Do you become indignant when clients and prospects aren’t loyal to you, but don’t question yourself when your own loyalty flip-flops?
When someone speaks poorly of your friends, do you just nod your head? Or do you defend your friend?
Do you smile and compliment your manager or a particular co-worker in personal conversations and then knock him or her when you’re with other team members?
Do you invest extra time researching new clients and prospects and neglect your loyal and good customers?
In any of these situations, you might be disloyal to get attention. You might think that when you speak out against them that you’re showing your superiority. But you’re really only hurting yourself. Use these questions or develop your own list to examine your behavior when you feel your loyalty is questionable.
How Can You Boost Your Level of Loyalty?
No one is born loyal. Everybody must learn how to maintain and build their loyalty. If you want to be more loyal, you can take actions to achieve that. If you want to boost your loyalty to your friends, you might call three friends and ask them how you can help them today. You might look at your commitments and make sure you do them. Ask yourself if you’re keeping your promises.
If you want to be more loyal to your organization, you might decide that the next time someone says something bad about your company that you don’t want to be a part of the conversation. Don’t remain silent. Stand up for your company. Take a proactive stance and show the disloyal people that your loyalty is more important than their friendship. Get away from disloyal people, and take care of your most loyal customers first. When you invest your time and resources in loyal people, your loyalty will repay you in a positive way.
If you choose to be loyal, seek ways to do it. Document it, look at it, and make note of any time you aren’t loyal. When have you not been loyal to a friend, to your company, to your spouse, to a client? How can you alter your behavior in the future?
You can also spread loyalty throughout your organization by complimenting your associates who publicly demonstrate their loyalty to products, services, and friends. Being loyal means taking the high road. And keep in mind you never get in trouble for the things you didn’t say.
How Should You Sever Your Loyalty?
No matter how loyal you are, you might be faced with a situation that requires you to sever your loyalty. But that doesn’t mean you have to resort to disloyal behavior to make your break. You can still handle these situations with integrity and honesty.
When you’re loyal to a friend or associate and they stab you in the back, don’t counter with an eye for an eye. Just disassociate yourself and move on. If your company has been disloyal to you, don’t knock the company. Just quit and leave. And that isn’t necessarily being disloyal to them; that’s saying you’re taking your loyalties somewhere else.
Being loyal to someone or something that takes advantage of you isn’t beneficial. So if you find yourself in this type of situation, sever your loyalty in a dignified way that preserves your integrity.
Your Loyal Future
Loyalty is important in all aspects of life, but especially when it comes to business. When you are loyal to your company, you get more opportunities to advance. And when you’re loyal to your clients, they will be loyal to you in return. When you use these strategies to boost your loyalty, you will achieve greater respect and success as a result.
Loyalty from The Respect Factor® Series
THE RESPECT FACTOR® is a trademark of Jack Perry in the United States and other countries. Used with permission. ©2009 Jack Perry. All rights reserved.
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