In last Saturday's Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, on p18, Peggy Noonan had the following anecdote in an interesting essay titled, "The Trouble with Loyalty":
"There is the story of the politician who accused a follower of never being loyal. The follower was nonplussed. 'But I always support you when I think you're right,' he said. 'Anyone can do that,' said the politician. 'I want people who support me when I'm wrong.'"
Loyalty, rightly understood, is a virtue. It is a form of faith. The latin word for faith is fides and there is a certain fidelity, a truthful connection, that needs to be present between the one who desires loyalty and the one who gives it.
If we understand truth as "an agreement with fact or reality," then we begin to see that the politician in Ms. Noonan's anecdote was not asking for true loyalty -- he was asking for blind loyalty. He was asking for unthinking, uncritical subservience.
Ever had a manager like that?
Loyalty demands that we see things as they are and not as we (or those to whom we are loyal) wish them to be. It requires us to speak the truth as we understand it. And those who are deserving of our loyalty will want to hear what we have to say. They will encourage us to speak our mind without fear of reprisal.
True loyalty is earned over time through the integrity of our actions. It cannot be coerced through favors or threats. As a manager, the worst time to try and build loyalty with your team is at the time when you actually need it.
Great post! I was doing some research for one of my post on "Blind Loyalty" and ran across your blog. I have added it to my blogroll now and look forward to reading through all of your posts. The ones I've read so far have been well worth my time. Thanks, keep up the good work!
Posted by: John Longfield-Smith | 03 May 2007 at 06:11 PM