Loyalty: Is it earned or a birthright?

Often I have heard people talk and make a lot of fuss about loyalty. A significant number of these talks are amongst politicians. I found myself giggling as I wrote this.

I was curious about the matter of loyalty and decided to do some search and I confess that my eyes have been opened to facts I had not paid attention to prior to this time. Oh dear!!!

i have learned that loyalty is a personal trait. It is a decision we make to stay true to a cause; which may be positive or negative, but we stay committed to it. It could be to an institution, a relationship or even to an individual. Like my friend Engineer Osarogie Omo-Osagie pointed out, no one is borne with such tendency. We either learn it from our formative years as a family tradition or we acquire it as life happens. This means that being loyal is hardly determined by our prevailing circumstances but by our innate decision and resolve.

I believe that a person that seeks loyalty, should lead by example, but it is also important that he should understand the people  surrounding him. This would enable him identify those that have acquired traits of loyalty or are willing to learn. According to Clarence Francis “You cannot buy loyalty; you cannot buy devotion of hearts, minds, and souls. You have to earn these things.” 

We are discussing positive loyalty!

The following are some of the enablers of loyalty to a leader or partner;  authenticity, credibility, transparency in terms of values and ideas and visible trust for the team. You should also participate and be committed to (hands on) whatsoever you have agreed to pursue. 

Anthony Boyd shared “ I gained and retained loyalty by being human-to-human. I refused to flaunt my power even though I was in a position of authority.” Quite simple and real!

In closing, I hope you agree with me that these traits that endear loyalty actually makes us better humans?  So if at the end no one or our target does not appreciate us or we fail to earn loyalty, at least we are better off as a proper human. We loose nothing.

 From this chat, I have personally resolved to learn and improve on my loyalty quotient. Who is with me on this?

We should always remember though, that among the twelve, there is a Judas but we would not allow that to discourage us. If in doubt Ask Jesus.

💥Osila4Real