Loyalty Is a Critical Component of Successful
Leadership Strategies
There is no way to instantly develop business
leadership strategies, either among the members
of your organization or for that matter, within
you.
It takes time to become a leader, you must
learn through your life with the passing of
time spent learning what real leadership is
and what it means to be a leader.
To be a leader, a master of leadership strategies
you must always be a student.
To be always learning keeps you in the loop
with your youngest employees and will help
you lead your veteran employees to more effective
strategies.
Your people expect their leaders to be on
the cutting edge.
New ideas and insights, new procedures and
new methods no matter where they come from
must always be welcomed and integrated into
what you already know and what's already working
for you and your people.
Your employees gain confidence when they know
you are continually learning new information,
not simply relying on what has worked for
you in the past as an excuse to stop stretching
yourself.
In order to be a master of 21st century business
leadership strategies you and all the other
leaders in your organization must possess
the essential qualities of leadership.
And it is only through experience that these
qualities will be born and nurtured until
they become master skills.
Every article, every book, and every training
course devoted to business leadership management
and its development have lists that claim
to be "the" qualities and characteristics
of leaders.
I will not argue with any of them because
they are all important, each is more or less
important depending on the specific business
where the characteristics are found.
If there is one characteristic of leadership
that all gurus, experts, authors, and academics
will agree on, it's loyalty.
Above all a leader must be loyal.
Loyalty to the mission, loyalty to your bosses,
loyalty to your direct reports, and loyalty
to your peers.
Loyalty is a critical element of leadership
strategies is not in doubt, however being
loyal does not mean we should not disagree
with one another.
Disagreement is not the same as disloyally.
In fact the 
most loyal followers are those who disagree
with their leaders and openly discuss their
points of disagreement until a consensus is
reached that both the followers and the leader
can agree on and wholeheartedly endorse.
A follower who, in the best interests of the
organization disagrees with the leader is
someone to be listened to.
That person embodies the notion that open
discussion is allowed and that all relevant
points of view are considered and that while
a business organization might not be run like
a true democracy, this one is closer to it
than most.
Leaders must demonstrate loyalty by welcoming
that discussion, by taking the input of their
followers seriously and considering opinions
other than their own.
And not just the leaders in the Board room
either.
This also applies to leaders whose business
leadership management takes place on the shop
floor or in the sales manager's office.
They must also encourage discussions between
themselves and their subordinates.
The old days of "my way or the highway" are
long gone at least in theory.
The masters of leadership strategies at every
level of the organization must make sure theory
and practice are one and the same in their
workplace.
On the other hand, employees up and down the
organization's pecking order, who take part
in or encourages others to take actions that
are not in the best interest of the organization
should be fired.It is as simple as that.
The traitor's ability to influence and as
a result discourage loyal employees, managers,
and executives is contagious and must be cut
away the instant it is uncovered.
Developing your own leadership strategies
is about discovering and creating opportunities
and meeting challenges others have not addressed.
It is motivating your people, making informed,
tough decisions for your organization, and
accepting responsibility for the consequences
of your actions.
Effective leadership strategies requires responding
to crisis with innovation, delivering creativity
in management, and demonstrating flexibility
in the field.
It is a state of mind which enables a person
to take responsibility of not only him or
herself but of others, the entire organization
and society as well.
