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

No More Eyes Wide Shut

We need loyalty more than ever to keep ourselves grounded in today’s fast-paced, rough-and-tumble world. We certainly need the sense of teamwork and camaraderie that come with loyalty if we are going to be productive and positive focused. Though loyalty has morphed from unconditional to conditional, it still is vital.

However, let’s all be smart about this. Loyalty today must be earned equally by all parties involved. It is the by-product of establishing mutual respect and trust. The new definition of loyalty is provisional, and it does not extend to compromising your personal ethics or the well-being of the company. Cynthia Lynch (a column reader) writes:

Integrity, doing what is right, correct and honest—that defines the limits of loyalty. If a simple, honest mistake is made within those boundaries and can be correctly and diplomatically righted with no fingers pointed—why not do so? But, could you respect someone, however loyal, if they lacked integrity? “Do whatever it takes to protect each other” is a very suggestive phrase, and a slippery road to travel.

No employee today can afford to become a coconspirator in unethical, illegal, or immoral activity. Most employees want to take the high ground and do the right thing, and managers are no different. Your professional connection can help keep each other out of trouble. And isn’t that one of the goals of every good business relationship?