“The bearer of these few lines from thy entirely devoted servant will deliver into thy fair hands a token of my true affection for thee, hoping you will keep it for ever in your sincere love for me. Advertising you that there is a ballad made lately of great derision against us, which if it go abroad and is seen by you; I pray you to pay no manner of regard to it. I am not at present informed who is the setter forth of this malignant writing; but if he is found out, he shall be straitly punished for it.” – King Henry VIII
Sometimes, when the dead have no more left to give, they are grateful that someone sees and gives them a voice.
A friend of mine sent me the link to this post and after reading it I have a few questions for you:
1. What does falling on your sword mean to you?
2. What do you feel are reasonable expectations on an employee who is being compensated by a company for their loyalty?
3. Have you considered that an employee is not entitled to a position with ANY company?
4. What business hires employees to just pass through their organization?
5. Do you believe that there is a connection between security and loyalty?
Great questions, Seth.
1. I’d define “continually falling on your sword” in this instance as a repetitive bent toward unreasonable expectations for an employee. In the workplace, isolated seasons or instances of needing to sacrifice personal time, or go against your own advice are to be expected. But when it becomes a culture where that is the norm, I think that’s unacceptable.
2. “Reasonable expectations” are defined by the culture and the job description, just as compensation is. I don’t feel like I’m being compensated for loyalty per se; I’m being compensated to do a job, and to do it well. This isn’t family, it’s work. Unswervingly loyalty is rarely earned, and I find it difficult to expect it from employees. If it were all about loyalty, why would we even need to pay employees?
3. I don’t think anyone is entitled to a position. Did I imply that?
4. To an extent, 99.999% of businesses hire employees under the assumption that those employees will not be there forever. I’m not suggesting to hire fly-by-night people, but I am suggesting that certain employees will be in your organization for a season, or to accomplish a specific task and that’s ok. I think this is part of the mature of the modern workplace.
5. I believe job security should be based on performance. What good is loyalty to the mission if the employee is incapable of carrying out the portion of it they’ve been tasked with? For me, I feel like my job security rests in my ability to continually learn, improve and add value to an organization.
About The Author
I'm a graphic designer and sometimes writer living in Anderson, South Carolina. I serve as the Design Director for NewSpring Church. I love Jesus, my wife, Levi's Jeans, good Tex-Mex, and 8oz glass bottle Coca-Cola Classic. On good days I love them roughly in that order. Email me.
On Loyalty, Being Secure, the Modern Workplace and Lightening Up
Sat 05/30/09
If you, as a leader, create and nurture a culture where employees must continually fall on their swords to prove their loyalty to the mission, the cause, the vision, the organization, your leadership, etc., eventually you won’t have anyone left. Your people will either burnout or simply leave. And when they fail or exit, the delusional self-fulfilling prophet in you will quietly say, “See, I told you they weren’t loyal.”
And maybe they weren’t. Or maybe all employees are not longterm relationship material. Or maybe your mission and direction sucks and they got tired of it. Or maybe they were so bloodied from all the sword hugging that they didn’t have anything left to give.
Don’t let a misplaced need for leadership affirmation confuse the loyal people with the folks just passing through. In the trenches, we all want to know our people have our back. But if the way we expect them to prove their loyalty kills them in the process, don’t blame the dead. You’re the one calling the shots.