Clarence Francis said, “You can buy a person’s time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you can not buy enthusiasm… you can not buy loyalty. You can not buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these.” However, loyalty is not easily earned.
Loyalty is built over time through action. It is not a feeling that can be developed based on thoughts or ideas, but only upon demonstration of trust, openness, and a mutual need.
Loyalty is a two way proposal. Long lasting loyalty does not work one way. You can not receive true loyalty from another person if you are not loyal to them.
A simple exercise for this week is to reflect on your level of loyalty to those within your inner circle. How can you strengthen the loyalty of your team? What acts will demonstrate and build the loyalty you want?