This past month has provided me with an education about the existence of Loyalty Departments in many organizations I do business with as a consumer.
They are living proof that sometimes the squeeky wheel does get the grease. Loyalty departments are set up to handle the calls of dissatisfied customers who are threatening to leave a company. They respond to that dissatisfaction by providing a “sweeter” deal in an effort to reward their past loyalty and keep the customer.
In my experience as a leader, sustainable loyalty isn’t something that can be bought. Always having to respond to the threats of people leaving is the wrong end of the football field to be playing the game on!
The great leaders that I’ve seen seem to always be asking themselves “What am I doing to proactively build loyalty today, so that I don’t have to be reactionary down the road?”
They work on understanding their employees and providing meaningful employment to them. They take responsibility for the team as they expect their people to be responsible to them. These are just a couple of motivational leadership qualities that money can’t buy.
Afterall, every moment your employees have to think about what sort of “deal” they are getting is a moment wasted that could have been spent doing the things that lead to their success and yours. Best teams don’t run on squeaky wheels, they are well oiled machines.
Have a great week! We’ll see some of you in Edmonton for the
First Time Supervisor’s Two Day Boot Camp, November 29/30.
David
David is a professional speaker/workshop facilitator in the areas of Leadership & Communication. Visit his website for more information.

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