Loyalty
Posted by Todd Royer on: 2005-09-04 02:50:32
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Loyalty
It's common knowledge companies no longer provide
long-term job security like they once did. There have
been too many mergers and head count reductions for
anyone to believe absolute corporate loyalty is
worthwhile. In practical terms, this means everyone
is responsible for his or her own career development.
Yet, having said this, another problem comes into
play: what kind of dedication should an employee now
feel towards their employer? What's appropriate and
what's responsible?
What if you worked at the same company for 17 years
only to find out one morning the company would be
closing your division within a couple of months? And,
the company won't be relocating anybody. Sound
familiar? How can you remain loyal in the face of
such stories, especially when they happen so
frequently? You can't! In essence you're forced to
devise a career strategy, that doesn't depend upon
corporate security. In terms of career development,
loyalty and dedication are now negotiable. Integrity,
however, is never negotiable. This is the formula so
many employees are now learning to live by.
The deal is, you now trade your dedication for
specific career rewards. In this way, your career
advances no matter what company you're working at. Of
course, everybody talks about skills and how important
it is to constantly be expanding and improving your
skills, which is true. But there's more to
professional growth than just skills. The other thing
you should bargain for is responsibility. Your
professional growth will depend upon expanding your
responsibilities. Here's where integrity becomes so
important. The point of responsibility is to take on
problems others don't want or can't handle. This is
your opportunity to own the outcome and thereby
increase your value. Your professional integrity is
the key to getting more responsibility.
Most bosses are more than willing to hand over
responsibility when they trust the person they're
handing that responsibility to. Therefore, you need
to emphasize professional integrity in place of
loyalty. The calling card for growth becomes your
ability to develop skills and take on responsibilities
in exchange for your dedication. Look for the
opportunities to do just that!
© by Todd Royer. All Rights Reserved.
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About the Author
Todd Royer is a seasoned career development specialist. He is experienced in managing organizational growth by recruiting competent confident people. Currently he is Senior Partner at DiscoveryTech, Technical Recruiting.