People love being associated with their chosen sports team or organisation.
Following or supporting a team creates a sense of belonging, of identity, and affiliation. This affiliation is not just for individual players or the team as a whole and the success it achieves, but can include the history of the team and all previous accolades.
An individual’s support for a team provides immediate benefits to that person. It creates an immediate ‘bond’ with like-minded fans, where knowledge, experiences and emotions can be shared. Affiliation brings with it a sense of camaraderie and kinship.
It can become more than just an affiliation; it can become a lifestyle, a passion, a purpose and a personal validation – all strong motivators and emotional ties.
Robert Cialdini says ‘Whoever you root for, represents you’. When sports teams let you down by playing badly, or your favourite pop group break up, it can be hard to accept. Yet we all take these risks for the sense of belonging the affiliation provides.
So how do we turn our employees into fans, then into true supporters of us and our cause?
Being a fan
Fans believe they receive the right to hold an opinion, once they commit to the cause. Football teams have 30,000 ‘managers’ and ‘coaches’ in the stands every time they play!
This is the price a leader pays for inviting people to be part of it all!
The Glory!
‘Basking in Reflected Glory’ is a term used to describe the fans enjoyment of seeing their team succeed, and ‘adopting’ the team’s success as their own personal triumph, saying ‘We won’!
This underlines the need for a leader to celebrate and share success with the team – everyone plays their part by being a supporter, and everyone needs to ‘feel good’ about the great things which are done!
Retaining loyalty
Even when we have created a core of very willing supporters, we need to understand the relationship we have with them
They will have an expectation of you, and the organisation – their personal commitment will have raised the stakes considerably in terms of their psychological contract with you. They will be more demanding – and this is the price you pay for their being willingly engaging…
They will also look to you for a degree of comfort from their commitment to you. If anyone ‘pins their colours to the mast’ although they do so unequivocally, there is always a sense of expectation for reciprocation.
Full support – and Independence
Even though there is a great assimilation of the minds of your supporters, all joining together under one banner, direction, and aim, many will retain an independence and point of difference. This point of difference may be the extent to which they display their loyalty – ‘I’m a greater fan because … I have never missed a home game in 15 years’ or ‘My knowledge of the team’s history is greater than yours’
However it may work the other way …Some will want to retain a degree of independence – hold something of themselves back from a full commitment, as a safety net in case everything fails. There is nothing wrong with this, and it is a natural and sensible state to be in. You rarely get the full, complete unconditional commitment of anyone, and because of the fact they hold something back, it reminds you as their leader that every day you have to re-engage and reassure them that their choice in supporting you is the right thing for them to do – never take it for granted!
…and when the team struggle, or fail in their endeavours, the ‘Basking’ in glory turns into a dis-association from them (hence those who retain an independence). ‘We won’, becomes ‘They lost’.
What as leaders can we learn from this? We want to ensure we have the most committed supporters, people who want to support with their minds, their hearts, and all their energy and effort! Yet we need to achieve a balance between personal freedom and group synergy, individual incentive and team achievement.
Ensuring Fans become active Supporters
So how do you encourage your team to take the step from being ‘fans’ of what is being achieved, to being true, active ‘supporters’?
People love being associated with a successful team. It not only provides them with a sense of belonging, it also validates who they are – offering greater self-esteem and a sense of self-worth. We all love to be part of something bigger than ourselves as individuals, something we can be proud of and let others see we are a part of.
So how do we take fans, and compel them to be fully signed up, active supporters of our organisations? Here are four simple, straightforward steps I would suggest create the platform for creating loyal supporters.
Step one – make what you do successful! Celebrate success, however small. This creates a true sense of value for those who are participating, and will create a desire for inclusion
People love to be part of something great, whether it is a national celebration or a local team success. It creates a warm feeling inside, but it is only really validated and becomes part of ‘who they are’ when it is shared with others. Having a passion for something is great – but sharing it with others is even better! This is what ‘makes it real’!
Step two – draw people in. Encourage the bonds of colleague-ship within the team. The more you can lead them to grow not just loyalty to each other but empathy for one another, the stronger the collective will be.
If you listen to people speaking about their favourite team, or particular passion – part of their thrill is the personal knowledge they hold, and that they relish the opportunity to tell others. In the context of sport, this is often in relation to performance, and how they rank compared with their competition.
Step three – Set out to beat the competition! Share openly with your team how you are performing against others in the market place. The competitive challenge of bettering others should never be underestimated! Once team performance becomes ‘self-relevant’ an individual takes on the ownership of that performance and commits to having a personal influence upon it.
Step four – be someone they can relate to, admire and really want to succeed in all they do on your behalf!
Personal affiliation plays a big part in a fan’s commitment to the cause. Meeting a sporting hero from your team creates an affinity that is hard to break. Having a personal interest from the leader of your organisation has a similar effect, creating the desire to be a true supporter and offering your all.
Why is it so important for us to create fans, and convert them into supporters? Simple – they give their all to the cause they believe in.
Supporters have an active interest in, an engagement with, a commitment to, and involvement in the success of the team!
Supporters want to be part of team, feel part of team, and believe their inclusion matters
That is why you want fans, and should be working to make them your supporters!
