A CEO recently told me how loyalty is the most important thing she looked for in her staff and employees.
I had to stop her. "The only meaningful and consistent loyalty you can count on is from your dog (and you even have to have an understanding with your dog)," I said. "If that's the main thing you're counting on with your staff, not only are you running in the wrong direction... you're sprinting in the wrong direction enthusiastically."
You can walk around your office claiming to have a loyal staff, and maybe you do. But does everybody on your team agree with and understand the direction the company is going in? If they don't feel the same sense of agreement and understanding, you're going to be disappointed with your results.
If your employees don't agree with the direction you've proposed, you're going to have a lot of unproductive employees.
Agreement and understanding leads to commitment, which leads to passion. If your employees are committed to the goals you set, their job will take on a new life.
Sometimes when I would ask my employees if they had done what I asked them to do, they would respond saying they hadn't. Since I learned this; however, I now make sure I ask my employees if they're in agreement with my task and understand its significance to the success of the company.
Having an agreement and understanding leads to commitment, which leads to passion.
If you want extraordinary results in service, products, and profit, follow those guidelines.
Excerpt from Living On Purpose (available now):
I started to think about my journey to extraordinary achievement like a tree. The roots are my purpose, in that they help me stay anchored. Commitment is the trunk of the tree, growing little by little every day as it stretches skyward toward the sun. The branches that grow off that trunk represent my passion, and the fruit or leaves are traits like creativity, clarity, focus, determination, diligence, and thoughtfulness that are ignited by my passion.
I had been chasing passion and, to some degree, coming up empty. Now I knew I’d been chasing the wrong thing. I had to begin pursuing purpose and passion would follow.
If you're in a leadership role in the locker room, your office, or at home, take a look at your teammates, your employees, or your family and ask yourself if you have an agreement and understanding with them. Without understanding and agreement, you're not going to be committed. And without commitment, you won't have passion.
Does loyalty count? Of course it does. But is that person in agreement with you? Don't seek out loyalty, seek out the stuff that leads to loyalty. Loyalty is created by having an understanding and agreement with people.
The same CEO told me that she was building a culture. Once again, wrong. You don't build a culture, you create a culture through understanding and agreement.
If you want to learn more about why you should prioritize your purpose, check out my latest book Living On Purpose!
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Quote of the Day: "Make Each Day Your Masterpiece" - John Wooden
Song of the Day: "Come Together" by The Beatles
*My latest book; Living on Purpose: Stories about Faith, Fortune and Fitness that will lead you to an Extraordinary Life, is available for order - Click Here*
