Development //
Building loyal relationships
in organizations is critical
to success.
Loyalty Is Earned
By timothy Keiningham, lerzan Aksoy, and luke Williams
Building a loyalty-driven organization
Our relationships equal our success. As managers, our won’t just happen as a natural course of
success is contingent upon getting the most out of the events. It requires questioning some cur-
people in our organizations. Despite its importance, rent beliefs and changing some long-
however, this concept is one management truth that standing behaviors.
is seldom taught in business school. Self-improvement
Building loyal relationships profession-
Therefore, it’s little wonder that we The problem this creates for organi- ally and personally should always begin
do an incredibly poor job of building zations and individuals is far reaching. with a valid self-assessment. Improving
relationships in our professional lives. Research clearly shows that the most connections with others invariably be-
Our research finds that only one in 10 productive, most innovative teams gins with improving oneself as a leader,
managers invests a great deal of time in within companies are built on strong re- manager, and colleague. Knowing how
building relationships with colleagues lationships. A manager’s loyalty and that one interacts with others is critical.
at work. As a result, only one out of 10 of his colleagues is strongly driven by the Where do your loyalties really lie?
feels a strong connection to their com- connections he feels with others at work. Most people believe that they are
pany, peers, and the people who report And even his happiness is in large part a much more loyal—and therefore much
directly to them. function of his bonds at work. more deserving of loyalty—than others
76 | T+D | july 2009 Illustration by Steve Fife
perceive them to be. Therefore, being While the requisite tasks of any job often do we really offer praise? No, we
completely objective in self evalu- won’t always be fun, research interviews don’t mean the general praise that in ef-
ation and the input gathered from with tens of thousands of people from fect says, “Great job team, whoever you
others regarding perceptions of our all over the world leaves one inevitable are.” The reality is that general praise
loyalty is critical. But let’s not kid conclusion: our work can enrich our has no impact on people.
ourselves either—this is very hard lives. And when we feel like we are Instead, we need to make it person-
to do. As the author Aldous Huxley part of something important either to al. When was the last time you wrote
observed, “If most of us remain igno- ourselves or some greater cause, we are a note of thanks in your own hand (a
rant of ourselves, it is because self- inspired to do more. And it is the role 60-second investment of your time)?
knowledge is painful and we prefer the of every leader to find the cause that The odds are that you don’t do this
pleasures of illusion.” inspires others. nearly as often as it is deserved.
We need to get into the habit of
Employees’ perceptions of A manager’s finding people doing the right thing
the organization
Organizational psychologist Rensis
loyalty and that of and then recognizing it immediately.
By doing this, we demonstrate that we
Likert once observed, “The greater the his colleagues is not only know but really appreciate
loyalty of a group toward the group, the
greater is the motivation among the
strongly driven by these individuals in our lives.
The great thing about appreciation is
members to achieve the goals of the the connections he that it doesn’t just benefit the recipient.
group, and the greater the probability
that the group will achieve its goals.”
feels with others at It benefits us as well. Psychologists have
conclusively proven that expressing ap-
Unfortunately, virtually all of us sense work. And even his preciation on a regular basis leads to a
a decline in employee loyalty in com-
parison with our parents’ and grand-
happiness is in large more fulfilling and meaningful life.
parents’ generations. part a function of his Loyalty matters
Collecting information on employee
loyalty is simple. All it requires is a good
bonds at work. Leaders inspire the organization by walk-
ing the talk, and by doing so, they uplift
survey process. The key is to provide a their colleagues by harnessing the spirit
forum where employees feel comfort- The blame game and power of the people in their organi-
able sharing their real feelings without We all know that saying, “There is no ‘I’ zations to unite for a common cause.
fear of a negative backlash. in team.” But all too often, team mem- The benefits are enormous. Produc-
Realize that while getting information bers find their contributions buried in tivity rises, creativity flows, and turn-
on employee loyalty is relatively straight- the spotlight shown on others for what over drops—all from leveraging the
forward, meaningfully acting on this should be a team victory. The best lead- power of relationships. And they win
information typically is not. It requires ers, however, recognize that they look when they surround themselves with
assessing and adjusting the policies, prac- best when they help others be success- people they care about and people who
tices, and procedures of the organization ful. In other words, they become win- care about them.
as well as the behaviors that get rewarded, ners by creating winners.
supported, and expected with regard to Unfortunately, many managers are
relationship building. slow to identify members of their teams Timothy Keiningham is global chief strategy
except when it is time to assign blame officer at Ipsos Loyalty; tlkeiningham@
The goals and dreams of for something gone wrong. Playing the yahoo.com. Lerzan Aksoy is associate pro-
your colleagues blame game is the most corrosive acid fessor of marketing at Fordham University;
No one goes to work to make someone known to relationships. The reality is lerzanaksoy@gmail.com. Luke Williams
else rich. While most people work in that everyone fails, unless they never is senior project manager at Ipsos Loyalty.
part because they have to do so to sur- take risks. And a company that never This article is based on their book, Why
vive, they also want work to give them a takes a risk is a company that will fail. Loyalty Matters.
sense of accomplishment. Great managers know this to be true.
Managers need to help those who They are generous in sharing credit, and
report to them, and those with whom when it comes to assigning blame, the
they work directly to get greater fulfill- buck stops with them.
InteReSteD In oRDeRInG e-pRIntS?
ment from their work. But making this
Would a digital version of this article be a
happen on a regular basis demands that Recognition great fit for your next course, presentation, or
they know what it is that leaves them What you reward gets repeated. Every event? Are you interested in e-prints of several
T+D articles on a specific topic? Email us the
feeling invigorated. parent knows this firsthand. But how specifics at eprints@astd.org to learn more.
july 2009 | T+D | 77
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