Summary:  You rely on your employees to grow your business, to keep moving forward you need to gain their loyalty.

It goes without saying, you depend on your employees to get the work done. They are the heart of your operation. Your clients depend on them to receive a product or service. Your people rely on each other to get the job done. Because you have employees you have grown your company to what it is today and hope to grow it further in the future.

In order for your employees to continue to provide great service to your clients, to each other, and to you – you will need their loyalty. You need their dedication to your vision, mission, and goals.

The philosophy sounds easy enough…how to implement is the real question.

Loyalty needs to be earned through trust and respect. You get this by managing with integrity, being yourself, and communicating.

Integrity. At it’s base you need to do two things. Keep your word and do what’s right. Essentially as you know, if you say you are going to do something – do it. Don’t make excuses later as to why it wasn’t done. They will remember and lose your trust. As you know, doing what’s right all the time can be difficult but it will earn you their trust and respect. If you falter, it’s ok, just explain why.

Be Yourself. I know this sounds cliche but many times when we try to be a leader, we try to emulate someone else’s style.  You can learn from others but do it your way. If you are loud and boisterous – be loud and boisterous. If you are quieter and thoughtful – be just that.

Communicating.  This can be the toughest of the three. Why? You aren’t sure what to communicate, what is appropriate to communicate and when, and lastly is there such a thing as over-communicating?  Then there is individual vs. group communication. If this is new for you or something you are not totally comfortable with yet, take it slow. Focus on one person at a time or one department at a time then move onto another one. Do what feels right for you, but do it.

Integrate these little by little on a daily basis until it feels natural and you can’t imagine leading your company and people any other way.

How do you create leadership amongst your people?