The definition of loyalty is: “a strong feeling of support or allegiance.” Synonyms are “faithfulness, obedience, adherence, devotion, dedication, commitment, reliability, steadfastness.” In other words, loyalty is an attitude with many dimensions. It assumes support and allegiance through the good and bad times.
There are many aspects or directions of loyalty in your practice:
- Patients loyal to your practice
- Patients loyal to you as the practitioner
- You loyal to your patients
- You loyal to your staff
- Your staff loyal to you
- You loyal to your goals and beliefs
- You loyal to your profession as a whole.
If you were to overhear one of your patients or clients in a store talking to another person about how amazing you or your practice are, you would love that kind of loyalty. But, if you overheard a member of your staff bitching on the phone to a friend about the amount of work she has to do at the practice or how mean or insensitive you are, you might say her loyalty to you as her boss and the practice are no longer there.
How does one create or even increase loyalty in any of the above aspects?
Loyalty is Earned
You can’t demand loyalty nor command it. You build it through caring about the other person and their welfare, and by standing by them no matter what. Honesty, trust and respect add up to loyalty. If you drop out any one of those 3 towards another person, the loyalty factor will also decrease. And keep in mind, it can take a little time to build loyalty – it is not an instant process. It is also not a finite one; you need to continue to be loyal despite all urges to the contrary.
Here are some good quotes:
“If you’re not loyal to your team, you can get by for a while, but eventually
you will need to rely on their loyalty to you, and it just won’t be there.”
– Tim Schafer
“Within the hearts of men, loyalty and consideration are esteemed greater than success.”
– Bryant H. McGill
“Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they’ll come back. We have to be great every time or we’ll lose them.”
– Kevin Stirtz
“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.”
– Napoleon Hill
“You don’t earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day.”
– Jeffrey Gitomer
Work out how the above data on loyalty can be used in all the aspects listed at the top of the article. You are the creator of the loyalty. Have fun earning some more!
