Ladies and gentlemen, a few short thoughts on keeping loyalty in perspective. I have had too many observations where the idea of loyalty is being used as an excuse to ignore fouls and justify not taking necessary actions.

Loyalty is being committed to your organization, your supervisor, and the people who are responsible to you for completing the task—your front line every day, get-it-done employees.

Loyalty is not Miss Justice holding her apothecary scale while wearing a blindfold. That may work in the legal system but not in a business, any business. Loyalty has eyes that see and scales that tip.

Being loyal to your organization is doing more than is expected. It is performing your job as though you invented it. Being loyal to your supervisor is not being a sycophant, nor speaking ill of your boss to others. Agreeing with your boss on every issue or liking your boss is not a requirement, respect for their position and responsibility is. Being loyal to your team of employees is ensuring they are resourced, trained and capable of doing their job. It is praising them in public and chastising in private. Taking the time to know whom your team members are, on a personal level, and having empathy for what is going on in their lives carries tremendous value.

No one will remember what you said, few will remember what your accomplishments; everyone will remember how you made them feel. When your team members feel good about working for you, they will carry you through the darkest moments in a supervisor’s professional life, and you will have dark moments. Those moments will require those around you to be loyal and for all the right reasons.

© 2015 by John Boggs all rights reserved.