Cultivating Loyalty

Years ago, as I sat talking to a senior leader I barely knew, he mentioned an email he’d recently sent to his team. A few weeks before our conversation, he’d strongly disagreed with a decision that one of his employees had made and didn’t hesitate in letting him know, replying all, with everyone watching as he put this person on blast. “I regret that moment,” he told me. “Not only was that the wrong thing to do to that employee, I also realize now that by virtue of handling things in that way—with that tone and in a public forum—that I have threatened risk-taking on my team, which means I have also threatened innovation.” I was blown away by his courage in sharing this with me and by his ability to self reflect on his impact, rather than hide behind his intentions. Customer service studies show that people grow more or less loyal to your brand based not only on how you treat them directly, but also on how they see you treat others — the same is true for us as leaders. The way we treat a person... and how we recover when we make a mistake like this... means everything to the relationship we have now, and the one we will have in the future... with them and with everyone else who’s nearby. Dance like nobody’s watching, sure... but lead like everybody is.

#leadership #themoreyouknow