This loyalty-complex might be one of the reasons why I'm often considered too private or 'bottled-up'. For example, I just don't like talking about boyfriend-problems with other people. I consider that a breach of loyalty. In a way even after a relationship is over.
Anyway, I've been thinking about loyalty in the work environment lately.
I work as Administrative Assistant (yea, glorified secretary, I know...), and in that position I get a lot of information about teachers, students, parents, etc. I have an excellent relationship with my boss and we joke about and share a lot of 'inside information'.
We have almost 70 staff members, and naturally I get along great with some (who I actually consider friends) and not so great with others. I try to stay professional at all times (even though the urge to gossip is definitely there...) and my primary loyalty is to my boss, as we are the "administrative team".
My problem with the whole work-loyalty is that I often have to defend or execute decisions that I don't agree with. Or cover up for mistakes I didn't make.
Not a fun part of the job.
I do voice my opinions to the people who make the decision, but as the 'office face', I stick with the 'party line'.
These loyalty issues are all small-scale, I realize, but they made me re-think my dream profession:
Well, one of my dream professions, I think I'd love his job, too:
[They were both characters on The West Wing, a TV show I couldn't get enough of. CJ was the Press Secretary to the President of the United States; Toby was the main Speech Writer.]
Would I be able to be the face of an organization/administration even if I'd disagree with some policies and decisions?
Is it always a good thing to keep up a united front?
When would it be time to cut my losses, leave, and write a tell-all book like Scott McClellan? (Who was on Talk of the Nation yesterday. Excellent show.)
And would I write a book like that? Or would I stay loyal? When does loyalty become an excuse for cowardice and when is it time to demonstrate dissent?
Aaah, my head is about to explode...
4 comments:
a common issue all over... if you're part of the TEAM... you follow.. when you begin to NOT follow.. you're on your way out..
i totally share your privacy thing though... no wonder we figure each out..:)
MK
I'm a political consultant and end up representing a fair number of candidates and elected officials.
As I get older, it matters less to me that I agree with the candidate on everything and more and more that I believe the candidate is honest, both intellectually and personally, and reasonably intelligent.
I can work with someone I disagree with as long as I know they're being truthful and have given the issue some thought.
Plus, once you start doing something like this professionally, you no longer have the luxury of ideological purity.
Todd,
I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. Very interesting.
I take it your work "behind the scenes" which I assume involves fewer loyalty-issues than a representative job...
Behind the scenes in politics, which is where I prefer to stay, you have at least as many opportunities to test your loyalty.
For example, if you happen to learn that a client's campaign finance documents have been incorrect for at least six years, then have a falling-out with that client.
Do you tell the next client who is running against the first?
You may have a duty to the first client to keep such things confidential, and a duty to the second client to help her win. What do you do?
And by faulty financial documents, it can be something as simple as mathematical errors. In that case, I don't necessarily consider the original filing that contained the math errors to be egregious. But if they let the errors stay in the public record and cascade as math problems tend to?
If the faulty finance docs were something egregiously unethical like trying to hide donations from baby-seal-clubbing terrorists, that would be one thing and it would be more clear where one's duties lie.
And behind the scenes work may mean that the consultant writes every word the candidate speaks, whether agreeing with him or not.
I've had situations as well in which I learned way more about the candidate's very-messy divorce and kept a lot of the details out of the press. When that candidate hires another consultant, what loyalty do I owe? What if that candidate screws me out of money?
Whenever it gets too complicated, I hit the road for a few miles, then get a big bowl of ice cream.
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