Do you know there are three major keys to opening the door to the kind of success you want for your business? These three keys are essential for Creating a Loyal Corporate Culture. Furthermore, not using them may be (probably is) costing you your Top Talent?
Margret (not her real name) is a high power executive with a Silicon Valley software company. Now in her forties, she had made the decision to pursue career over being a traditional mom. She had worked hard to rise through the ranks and was both highly respected and in demand. She knew that there was always another offer on the table; all she had to do was return a call from yet another headhunter and she would have a list of opportunities with any number of perks.
Despite the current trend of jumping ship, Margret was getting tired of the changes. She didn’t want to go somewhere else. To use her words, she thought that with this organization and the corporate culture she was sold into, she might have found her home. She sat across from me saying that she was certain that the organization she was currently with was the one she could finally call home. And yet…
There was a hesitation in her voice and manner that told me she wasn’t entirely convinced.
Maybe there was one more, better job out there.
So what was Margret really looking for? Not a corner office or a closer parking place, she already had those. Not even more money. Margret was looking for something much more elusive, much more meaningful—and considerably more essential to her self-worth—the need to belong.
Work life/personal life boarders have gotten very fuzzy over the last fifteen or so years.
What too few organizations realize is that the need to feel a bond and a connection to the people we work with and the organization has increased accordingly. Our society has become more global, both physically and electronically. We have more devices to connect us and yet many people feel more and more isolated. As a result, we long for real connection, and we may feel a deep desire to be part of, bonded to, something bigger than ourselves, whether that is an ideology, an organization, or a group of people.
Despite our efforts to make a name for ourselves and show our individuality, research shows that human beings are naturally tribal. We aren’t rugged individualists. We want to bond and belong. The desire to do so is part of our most basic human survival needs. The feeling that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, a place where we believe we are mutually needed and appreciated, is deeply satisfying. Much more so than a parking place with our name on it.
Given the opportunity, people attach themselves to a very wide variety of things:
….their family (or a surrogate family), their pets, their religion and or church, sports teams, and their country. Once that bond is firmly in place, people will, as I am sure you know, do ridiculous things to make sure that bond is not broken, including and very often even ignoring facts.
(Have you ever met someone who has learned their partner is cheating and refuses to believe it?) This bond isn’t limited to personal life. What too few companies and organizations realize and capitalize on is that their employees, at least at an unconscious level, want to feel that same bond with the organization.
It is only in the last ten to fifteen years that companies have begun to truly grasp the importance of brand loyalty and as such have pushed billions of dollars into creating brand recognition. All the while, these companies forget to notice the power of such loyalty when applied to their own employees.
I began this article by saying there are three major Keys to Creating a Loyal Corporate Culture. They may seem almost too simple, but they really are essential if you want to keep your best people, like Margret, from looking over the fence and hoping to find a greener pasture.
3 Keys to Creating a Loyal Corporate Culture:
1. We are bonded in common experience. To build loyalty, find ways to have your team share an experience. (By the way, the traditional team building exercises won’t likely do the job.)
2. Bonding is an emotional, feeling based experience. Create a corporate culture that makes it safe for your people to not only feel their feeling, but to also safe to share those feelings.
3. Open communication enhances relationships. Become masterful at having courageous conversations that allow you to find out what matters most (at a deeply emotional level) to each member of your team.
If you want to know more about these three keys, check out my up-coming book: Fiercely Loyal, “How High Performing Companies Develop and Retain Top Talent” now available on Amazon.
I trust that you found this article valuable, it is an adaption from my book “Fiercely Loyal” that you can now order on Amazon. If you feel it will ad value feel free to send this to your friends. I eagerly anticipate your feedback and comments.
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With gratitude,
Dov…
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Want to retain your top talent? Then my “Fiercely Loyal” book is for you! Plus get your free: “How to instantly bond any team” infographic.
