Happy February! Is "walking the walk" a tired old cliche or a bold new concept? Very few managers today are receiving formal management training. As a result, many are poor communicators and weak in their delegation and leadership skills. According to a Gallup poll, 25% of U.S. employees would fire their bosses if they could. Why? Because many manager set high service standards for their employees, yet fail to abide by those same standards. If you are a manager, you are in an excellent position to lead by example. Your employees will only respect your authority if they observe your excellent customer service skills on a daily basis. Customer loyalty must be a top-down initiative. Here are five ways you can earn greater respect and increase employee loyalty: 1. Always give performance reviews and salary increases on the promised dates. Employees have those dates memorized. They won't feel valued and will resent you if their review dates are postponed or forgotten.