If we look back at older times especially the war period, we can see a lot of extreme examples of this kind of strong leaders. The ironic fact is that all those megalomaniacs in history were excellent employers. In the sense that they can make people do crazy stuff without any objections. Some of the followers would even die happily for the leader's cause.
Imagine that you can have this kind of people who will give 100% of their effort for you, and would willingly sacrifice themselves for you. It is very ideal in business to be able to make use of such devoted people.
Along with time, especially in the current modern world, people are becoming more and more egoistic. In the sense that they always put their own well being as the first priority.
So as a business owner or a leader, to be able to control different people with different individualistic mindset is not in any way easy.
I have personally done my observation and I'm currently trying to rationalize why certain people would gladly give their all to their leaders and some would sell off their leader for their own benefit.
A. Basis of Loyalty
No matter which era we are in, there is one single universal rule. People follow a leader which they can respect.
Respect comes mainly from 2 things.
1. Admiration
2. Feeling of being indebted
For people to be able to admire you, you must be good at what you do, either you have the skills or you have accomplished big things in life. There is also an X factor which is Charisma. Charisma is not something that just everyone can possess. Some says that it can be learned, while others believe that it is a unique talent or gift exclusive to only a bunch of people.
The second factor is feeling of being indebted. Some people who feel they are indebted can really go to the extreme in devoting themselves. This is why some leaders try to make their employees loyal to them by keep repeating how much good things they have done towards the employees. There is no right and wrong in this. In a way it may sound a bit weird as normally when you do good things to others you dont normally keep reminding him of the things you did. But by keep repeating and reminding the same thing over and over again, the employee would somehow be slowly brainwashed into accepting that they are indebted.
B. Motivating
Everyone has their own drive or goal in life. In order to unleash the full potential of your employee, you would need to first understand their hot button.
Hot button refers to something which people consider to be their goal or objective in life. Every people have different hot buttons. Some wants materials such as good car or condo, some want the feeling of safety and being able to sustain their family. A good employer or leader is the person who is able to identify this point and use it to his advantage. He must be able to relate the job and place it alongside the person's goal.
Another point to note in doing this is to make the employee visualize their goal. No matter how much you try to motivate your employee but if they cant see a single light at the end of the tunnel, they wont feel motivated.
C. Employing Young People
Young people are unique beings. In the sense that sometimes they are not aware of their goals yet. But this actually gives you more opportunity to bend it to your desired direction. It's like moths attracted to light. You have to be able to give them directions and show them great visions to attract them. This will make them put in their full effort in their work.
To gain the trust of young people, you need to give them respect. Young people are well known for their ego. That is the reason sometimes kids listen to their friends more than the parents. Because when they are with their friends they feel more respected and among the friends their opinion matters. Same thing applies in business, if you treat your underlings as machines, and you dont give them chance or trust to perform, they wont come in good terms with you.
D. Art of Employing
1. Set good example> Set correct corporate behavior
2. Show them why you are leading> Impress them. Give them reason to acknowledge you as the one holding the key position. If they can perform better than you, they wont look up to you
3. Sell your vision> Let them see the goal to achieve and align it with their personal goals
4. Do subtle reminder of the good things you've done to them. Make them feel indebted> This point can be a double edged sword. If you intend to do this you better really treat them well. If what you do does not align with what you say, it will make things worse
5. Mutual Respect> Treat them as human with their own dreams. Give them opportunity and respect
"In order to get people to die for you, you must make them believe you would die for them."
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