Over the years I have been in business, either directly, or as a board member. The term duty to loyalty in the job description has always been one I respect and with age have come to more fully appreciate.
Simply stated duty to loyalty says that you will place the interests of the organization ahead of your own and that at all time your conduct will reflect well on the organization that you are a member of. In sports, we would call this being a team player.
In my experience, this concept stands as the bedrock of organizational health. What it does not stand for is silence or loyalty to the status quo. In fact just the opposite; Leadership demands an unassailable curiosity and the need to constantly be asking the question why and what can we do better? Duty to loyalty demands you ask these questions all the time and of every stakeholder, employee, shareholder, customer, supplier, and if you are really brave your peers.
You drive change that is in the best interest of the organization. I am reminded of a mentor of mine who used to remind me that coasting was the act of going downhill.
I am also reminded that when the organization puts the interests of the organization and the individuals they serve ahead of everything else, the organization thrives and grows. As a general rule, when that occurs, individuals tend to rise with the tide.
So as a gut check how is your duty to loyalty, and how is your organization’s?
Your clients/customers might just see a difference.
Dave serves as a Senior 5 MOUNTAIN® Advisor here at DVFBC, as well as on several boards. This article is reposted from his blog, The Muddy Boots.