Loyalty is one of the fundamental qualities in a company. In Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, loyalty is defined as a trait one owes 'to yourself and to all those depending upon you. Keep your self-respect.'
Whenever there is a discussion on loyalty, one question that always rises is 'How can the employees or team member made to be more loyal to the company?'
The logic of this question is misplaced, however, because it does not take into account a fundamental truth: Loyalty can only be given, not demanded, from others.
There is something common between loyalty and respect, you get it only when u give it.
Loyalty can be defined in three components.
* Have a set of core values that guide your behaviour no matter what the circumstances are.
A core value that Coach Wooden possessed was that he was a man of his word. In 1948, Coach Wooden demonstrated this in the most tangible way when he was offered a job by both Minnesota and UCLA. Preferring to stay in the Midwest, his first choice was Minnesota; however, Minnesota wasn’t quite ready to make a firm offer and UCLA needed an answer, so the Golden Gophers promised to call by 6:00 Sunday night with their deal. When the deadline passed and he had not heard from Minnesota, Coach Wooden accepted the Bruins’ offer instead. When Minnesota finally got through later that night—a blizzard had knocked out their phone lines—Coach kindly but firmly let them know that he’d already committed to UCLA and that he would not break his word.
* Be loyal to those who are dependant upon you.
In another example from 1948, after winning the conference championship at Indiana State, Coach Wooden and his team were invited to participate in the NAIA National Championship tournament in Kansas City. Coach refused the invitation, however, because he would not be allowed to bring Clarence Walker, an African-American player who would have been prohibited from participating solely because of his race. The following season, Indiana State won their conference again and was once more invited to the tournament. This time, the NAIA relented, and Clarence was allowed to participate.
* Never loe your self respect. This is a direct result of maintaining loyalty to one’s personal values and to those with whom one interacts. 'The goal is to satisfy not everyone else’s expectations, but your own,' Coach liked to say.
'Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are; reputation is merely what you are perceived to be.'
Courtesy: www.success.com
