Is loyalty still a virtue? Is it something which leaders and followers still believe is a valuable part of one’s professional and personal repertoire? Specifically, does it still matter in the workplace?
The easy answer to these questions is, of course, yes. Loyalty is still one of the golden virtuous behaviors in relationships, public and private, personal and professional, and between leaders and followers in both directions. Leadership literature for the past century, as well as classical writings and scripture, all support the premise that loyalty is a genuinely desirable trait and one which should be sought, developed, and perfected.
I bring this up because I recently came across an interesting take on loyalty in a case study of the Apple Corporation while under the leadership of the late Steve Jobs. Cited by Schein, the study describes the general organizational culture and how the team members functioned as they went from one project to another, often changing departments and working for a wide variety of supervisorial situations. The culture was for people to be highly flexible and focused on a particular project for a temporary amount of time with little emotional attachment. What really mattered was the innovation and the production of new products. According to the case study, attachment to the larger entity (Apple) was downplayed, and there was not the expectation from the members or the organization that someone would stay with the company any longer than what was superficially obvious in regards to value to the project. Someone might be a stellar employee, but past the current project, a job wasn’t guaranteed, and though Apple might be a fantastic opportunity for a team member, executives didn’t necessarily expect the employee to stay put if another opportunity presented itself at another company.
From this study, it was clear that loyalty was not a consideration. In fact, it was stated that “There was the philosophy of no mutual obligation between the company and its employees.” The idea was that Apple didn’t provide employment security, but rather employability security, meaning that one may not always have a job with Apple, but the experience of working at Apple would be beneficial to their future career plans. It makes sense, though I wonder if it takes a bit of the human elements out of the equation. I’m still a believer in a working environment that fosters deep relationships and long-term commitment to each other because of a common mission. I believe that when one is not encouraged to become more than superficially connected, the workplace loses its warmth and relational quality and lowers the quality of life.
In addition to Apple’s turning from loyalty as a desired behavior, I have observed other organizations which have made loyalty a tentative proposition when doing business. One that comes to mind was an organization that professed being “like a family,” with the top leaders demanding loyalty from the team members, but when circumstances changed, it was discovered that loyalty went only one direction, and worse, was only reserved for a select and preferred few. All the talk of loyalty being a number one value should have been explained as only required from employee to executive. It was sad and unfortunate as good people and valuable employees were hurt.
So, I ask you, as one leader to another…is loyalty still a virtue to be sought in the workplace? Should we encourage a deeper-than-superficial level of emotional commitment from our team members, and especially from ourselves to them? Do you want your team to just do a job, or be a part of the family? Do you want productivity and value, then out the door, or do you want long-term buy-in to the values and mission of your organization? Most importantly, are you willing to be loyal in return?
Lead well.