As a sales leader, how well do you inspire your team to go above and beyond for your customers? An inspiring team leader makes all the difference in your team's ability to earn customer loyalty. As Stephen R. Covey once said, "Leadership is a choice, not a position." You can have a title, but that doesn't make you a leader.

If you want to win the hearts of more customers and employees, you must start with yourself. Luckily, there are some ways you can adopt a loyalty leader mindset and start earning more loyalty from your employees and customers. Authors Sandy Rogers, Shawn Moon and Leena Rinne say that earning loyalty in any relationship comes down to empathy, responsibility and generosity. We explore how leaders can adopt these loyalty principles in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. Model the loyalty principles. Whether you feel like you're already empathetic, responsible and generous, or you're working to develop these behaviors, it's important to serve as a model for your team members. When you consciously focus on living out these principles, they become a foundation in your life. Rogers, Moon and Rinne challenge leaders to become even more empathetic, responsible and generous. Although many leaders need to substantially improve in these areas, the authors encourage leaders to not get discouraged but to consider ways they could listen better or make others feel more valued. In the end, leaders become the model of what it takes to earn the loyalty of others.

2. Teach the loyalty principles. If you're a manager, you're a teacher whether you know it or not. Your team members see how you respond, and your example influences their behavior all day long. Rogers, Moon and Rinne say that when you commit to teaching the loyalty principles, you end up owning it, internalizing it and learning the most. The principles become part of who you are.

3. Reinforce the loyalty principles. Leaders should always look for ways to reinforce the loyalty principles, whether they praise a team member for displaying responsibility or have a conversation with a team member who isn't being as empathetic as he could be in a situation. Try holding loyalty huddles or recognizing team members who regularly contribute to building loyalty. By celebrating loyalty behaviors, you start to weave loyalty into your overall culture.

4. Consider the loyalty principles when you hire. Whether you're recruiting one person or a whole team of people, always look for candidates who align with your core ideology and values. This means hiring people who are empathetic, responsible and generous. Ask candidates for past examples of how they exhibited each principle. This puts you ahead of the game when building a team that values the loyalty principles.

Earning loyalty as a leader ultimately rests on you. Study the points above to learn how to set the right example for your team.

Source: Sandy Rogers, Shawn Moon and Leena Rinne are authors of the book Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion. Rogers is the leader of FranklinCovey's Loyalty Practice. Moon is an executive vice president at FranklinCovey, bringing more than 30 years of experience in leadership and management. Rinne has more than 13 years of experience working with organizations to develop great leaders and serves as FranklinCovey's vice president of consulting.