Loyalty
I've already practically talked Fritzkrieg's ear off about this in person (and in a rather rambing and incoherent fashion, I might add), but I'm going to mention it here in a relatively terse manner: lately I've been preoccupied with the simple, common-sense notion that loyalty is a two-way street. More specifically, I've been thinking about how many leaders, organizations, and causes fail to maintain interest or support because although they demand the loyalty of their followers, they don't recognize that they must be at least as loyal to their subordinates, members, or fans.
For instance, you have George Lucas and the whole Star Wars phenominon. Unquestionably, there have been and are fans that are loyal to Star Wars. There have also been fans who have withdrawn their support for Star Wars--in whole or in part--because they felt betrayed by George Lucas's latest additions to the Star Wars saga (eps 1, 2, and soon 3.) In other words, Lucas failed to be loyal to some Star Wars fans.
Or consider some of the character interactions that occur in The Lord of the Rings, what with Denethor and such. He is quick to demand loyalty and even to invoke the word "loyalty," but he himself feels no obligation to demonstrate loyalty to those under his control. This is certainly one of his many failings.
The main point I am driving at here is that a lot of people seem to think that given power over others, they are entitled to loyalty from those others but are not required to demonstrate any loyalty towards them. People with a lot of power can often get away with this attitude and the mistakes that it breeds for a long time, but they will never be as successful as they could have been otherwise. What's more, it's not uncommon for someone who overestimated the loyalty they are afforded by others to lose power because of it--Lucas must have lost some influential fans, for instance, whereas his fan base could potentially have grown all the more strong if he had demonstrated loyalty. I have seen in my own workplace where those in leadership roles who choose to bully their subordinates eventually lose control of those subordinates, whereas others who are more respectful in their management style are much better able to keep their subordinates focused and motivated.
1 Comments:
Well put. It's strange how often people overlook that other side of loyalty. An old boss of mine, he was such a nice guy that the people working under him wanted to do a good job partly because we simply wanted to impress him (and themselves) with the quality of their work. There's a huge difference between that kind of motivation and putting in extra effort because you're afraid, or stressed, or told to put in extra hours. You simply can't be loyal to someone or something without believing in it. And if you do manage to be loyal without believing in the object of that loyalty, it stems from something empty and soulless; apathy and a lack of self.
Post a Comment
<< Home