Summary: Leaders play a crucial role in the success of their team. It’s important to reflect on what you are and aren’t doing and develop the skills necessary for leading a fitness staff to create loyalty. Follow along as we explore leadership skills and qualities that can help you do just that.
It’s true–many people quit their job, not because it’s a bad job but because of a bad manager.
Now, there are obviously other reasons that contribute to why an employee chooses to leave a company they work for (e.g., relocation, pay, other opportunities, happiness, fulfillment). However, leadership (or lack thereof) plays a significant role in staff retention, employee turnover, and loyalty.
As a fitness business owner (or any business owner for that matter), your leadership skills are a crucial component to the talented, committed, and team of loyal employees you want to build. Follow along as we explore some critical leadership quotes to make you think and the skills to help you create the “dream team” of gym staff that you want. Of course, this all starts with hiring the best fitness staff and creating an amazing onboarding experience. It also assumes that you train and develop your personal training team so they stick with you for the long haul. But, without serving as a leader, you’ll still risk trainer retention. Therefore, follow this guide to fitness leadership to increase your chances of retaining all-star trainers and, in turn, improving client retention.
4 Leadership Quotes For Reflection
Leaders have a significant impact on the loyalty and commitment of their team. Leaders provide purpose, clarity, direction, motivation, encouragement, support, and decisiveness. And, ultimately, they can make or break the success of a team or individual.
As a leader in the fitness industry, it’s important to consistently reflect on how you lead, what you’re doing well, and what you can improve to support the people that follow you.
We are sharing a few of our favorite leadership quotes to encourage that reflection and help you determine what steps you should take to foster more loyalty, trust, and retention within your personal training team.
- The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. —Kenneth Blanchard
Just because someone is a “manager” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a leader. Some fitness managers believe that because they are in a management role, the personal trainers that work for them should automatically respect and follow them, simply because of their title. However, a title alone does not make someone a leader. Real leadership is a distinct set of skills in a person that knows how to motivate, communicate effectively, encourage, reflect, lead by example, and earn the respect of their staff.
This component of your fitness business is important to understand and apply not only for you as a business owner but it’s also vital in the selection of your management staff. As you build your management team, identifying who the true leaders are is one of the keys to your success.
- What you do has far greater impact than what you say. —Stephen Covey
Effective communication is a crucial component of leadership. However, your actions speak louder than your words. True leaders lead by example. The example you set in alignment with your words is what builds trust and loyalty with your staff.
In addition, leading by example not only encourages your personal training staff to replicate your behaviors but can also help set a solid foundation for policy adherence and professional boundaries. It’s important to keep in mind if there are inconsistencies in what you say and what you do, your personal training staff will quickly pick up on it.
- The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. —Harvey Firestone
Some people in leadership positions believe leadership is about power, control, money, success, and titles. However, one of the truest elements of leadership is helping those around you rise.
As a fitness business owner, the success of your personal training team equals your success. Your ability to help each certified personal trainer develop and grow their skills is the foundation of your employee engagement, employee loyalty, employee retention, employee satisfaction, and, ultimately, the overall success of your fitness business.
- You don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership. –Dwight Eisenhower
Violence of any kind is not appropriate, obviously. This quote, however, also subliminally includes other outdated forms of managing that simply are not constructive. For example, micromanaging, shame, and fear are not effective motivators.
Using these types of things (i.e., shame, fear) may get short-term results. But, if an employee is treated that way, they likely won’t stick around for long. If you intend to improve loyalty within your personal training staff, negative reinforcement is not the answer.
4 Qualities of Effective Leaders
Let’s say you’re trying to do all of the above–Your behaviors are not affected by your management title, what you do and say are in alignment, you’re focused on helping your fitness professionals grow and develop, and you use positive reinforcement.
What else can you do as a leader to improve employee loyalty? The following list includes 4 powerful skills you should prioritize to enhance your leadership abilities and further connect with your fitness team.
- Prioritize Personal Development
Contrary to what some people might think, leaders are not born, they are made. The skills associated with being an effective leader take awareness, time, intention, practice, education, hard work, and discipline. Many of the best leaders prioritize their growth and development daily.
Emphasizing your personal development also falls in alignment with leading by example. If you’re asking your personal training staff to improve, grow, develop, and learn, you should be doing the same.
- Encourage Ideas and Innovation
Another effective leadership quality that can have a significant implant on employee loyalty and engagement is the freedom for each employee to share their ideas.
Each staff member has a different set of values, thoughts, and experiences that shape who they are–that’s one of the beauties of a team environment. You have a group with different skills, ideas, and strengths that come together collectively for a purpose.
Allowing your personal trainers to comfortably express their thoughts and ideas provides an opportunity for each employee to feel like they contributed. In addition, the collaboration, stirring of ideas, and freedom to think outside the box are often how you’ll uncover the ideal resolution you’ve been seeking.
- Learn the Art of Constructive Criticism
As previously mentioned, positive reinforcement is critical. However, that doesn’t mean that everything is flowers, butterflies, and rainbows all the time. There are still behaviors that need to be addressed, hard discussions that need to be had, and changes that need to be made. However, the ability to do this effectively with each personal trainer is an art.
Constructive criticism is a form of delivering feedback that encourages positive change from an employee. The conversation provides a scenario for the leader to communicate the issue while also providing support and accountability in alignment with positive change. The feedback is free from shame, degradation, or fear. Instead, the focus is on a positive outcome.
This type of communication instills trust, communication, collaboration, and loyalty within your fitness team!
- Set Realistic Goals and Expectations
Goal setting is an important element of a fitness business. Your fitness clients have goals, your personal trainers have goals, and you have goals. But, in addition to the goals you have for yourself, you likely have a set of goals for each of your personal trainers.
The expectations you have for your team members are important and are a huge driver of the financial success of your fitness business. However, those goals and expectations need to be delicately balanced with what each personal trainer wants to achieve and what’s truly attainable for them. This doesn’t mean you can’t set goals that will stretch and challenge them a bit. But, setting goals that are too lofty not only decreases motivation but also hinders the trust your employees have in you and your ability to “see the whole picture” as a leader.
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