Kindness and loyalty

I had my first ever antigen test recently as a pre-requisite for a TV shoot. A registered nurse administered the procedure. She pulled out this instrument and pierced it deep inside my nostril. It went so deep I felt like the device would hit my brain. I am not sure if this is the same procedure used when people say, “I want to pick your brains,” but it was a very uncomfortable experience. And now that I know the feeling and have experienced it, I empathize with people who need to go through the same procedure regularly as a requirement for their work.

And then the most awaited moment happened, 15 suspenseful minutes later, the nurse says, “Sir, you are negative!” In pre-COVID times, when somebody tells me I am negative, I would have taken that as an offense, but not so today.

The world is different now. The word positive is feared, and negative is welcomed. Other words elicit a lot of emotional responses, especially among business owners and leaders. They are the words like:

Spike

This word has the magical power of making business people automatically shake their heads. The silent thought is: “Oh no, business recovery won’t happen until this dreaded virus goes away, and my business again will have to suffer.”

Lockdown

Business people dread this word. They do not only shake their heads; they even let some words or expletives out of their mouths. This means to close the shops, send workers home, and dip into their savings. Resources are running out and the closure is possible. Never mind the ambition, aspirations, and expansion plans; even survival has a big question mark attached to it.

And what about huge companies with deep pockets and resources? While the frightening words we mentioned earlier may have had their effects on them to some varying degrees, the word they do not want to hear is:

Attrition

This is one of the scariest words that HR people, responsible executives, and bosses do not want to hear. I have had corporate clients tell me that they have lost good people, and if interventions are not in place, they might lose more.

According to a recent survey conducted by McKinsey, nearly half of employees say they are experiencing feelings of anxiety and burnout due to a lack of communication about reopening plans. If companies don’t address these sources of anxiety, they could see a decrease in productivity and employee engagement. And when these issues are not addressed, people will leave.

When attrition happens, there seems to be a quizzical look on the faces of the big bosses, and they ask, “but why? They are paid well and with the pandemic, isn’t it jobs are scarce these days?” This could indicate that bosses are clueless about what’s going on. No, they are not evil or malicious; it merely reflects that most things, including their relationship with their people, are purely transactional.

But this is not the perspective of most people in the workplace. Good people work there because of a deeper purpose. Had it been merely transactional, then pay is all they are after, and it does not need a pandemic to make them leave the moment a better offer is there for them to grab. The reality is, good people are there because they are loyal and they find intangible reasons for their wellbeing. They are there because they see their bosses and their companies care for them.

When leaders show kindness and care, the people experience a sense of safety. But when bosses do not show care, do not communicate well with their people, and rely on their authority and power to get things done, this provokes people to focus more on their own needs and wants, and become oblivious to others’ needs and feelings. Imagine how toxic the culture will be and how easy it is for good people to quit and bring their loyalty somewhere else. The general sense is that the more senior a person becomes, the bigger the risk of turning insensitive and unkind to others. The term for this is “Power Poisoning.”

Leadership is not all about transactions; it is significantly a matter of relationships. And when the people perceive compassion or kindness from their leaders; they become more loyal to them. Loyalty, in turn, feeds better performance at work.

Next time the big boss is asked: “How is your attrition rate during this pandemic?” The answer would be negative! Our good people have decided to stay with us, and together we will overcome.

(Francis Kong’s highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership Master Class Online runs from Oct. 13 to 15. For inquiries and reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or for more information, visit www.levelupleadership.ph)