You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

Managers’ Alert: Start Talking!

The loyalty conversation is one that needs to occur, and preferably sooner rather than later. This discussion needs to take place on various levels and across groups—between bosses and employees, among management, and even at the board level. I encourage you all to start talking about loyalty’s new limits and expectations in your organizations and to do so in such a way that will result in enhancing your mutual trust and respect. It is a conversation that must transpire well before a loyalty crisis occurs.

Savvy management supports employees and wants them to recognize and feel the limits of loyalty, as well as the increased accountability that is a reality today. They want employees to take full responsibility and control of their jobs, and to be proactive and alert to ethical infractions. And they are demanding a partnership with employees that creates an atmosphere of challenge and debate, whereby raising ethical questions about a decision or practice is simply a part of managing well. In a way, the definition of loyalty has evolved to include the practice of questioning, debating, and advocating for the highest good of the company. I believe that loyalty and integrity issues can usually be solved with frank discussion or outside intervention such as ethics training.

Managers and employees nowadays agree that they must view loyalty as a reciprocal commitment to help each other “do the right thing.” Both are aware of, and even hypersensitive to, ...