The Competence & Loyalty Mix In Leadership

Competence and loyalty are two important things that every leader seeks in the team, community, or organizations that they lead. This article is not an exhaustive discourse on the concepts of loyalty and competence in leadership. In leading organizations and communities, I have come across four categories of people, representing four types of a mix of loyalty and competence.

The first category consists of those who are actively building something - a company, a dream, or a vision. However, what they are building does not necessarily align with your agenda or vision as the leader. This category of people have their own interests, vision, and are leaders in their right; they truly understand what leadership means. They will not mess up what you are building, neither are they available to really support you, except their personal interests aligns with yours, temporarily. When interests align, they will support and work with you temporarily, to the extent to which their own needs are met. They are responsible users at best. Albeit, they won’t destroy your work. In my experience, this category of people is usually the best critics, because they do so responsibly. These ones are competent, but not loyal. With these people, you have to be likable, and from time to time, make sure their agenda is reflected in the corporate agenda.

The second category is those who are building something that aligns totally with your vision as the leader of the community that they belong to. These people are also leaders, and they will help you build whatever you are trying to do because it aligns with their own agenda. You’d rarely find these people, but if you are lucky to, they will pick your ideas and run with them. However, if for any reason, your leadership direction changes, and no longer aligns with theirs, they will become like the first category of people. These ones are both competent and loyal. With these people, help them build too, and they will always help you build yours.

The third category consists of those who are not necessarily building anything. Hence, they are available to either completely support you or criticize you. They admire you and value what you build. If they like you as a leader, they will support you fully, run with your vision, and make things happen for you. They are like free agents with good hearts. These ones are loyal, but not necessarily competent. With these people, give them ownership of a part of what you are building, and they will find purpose in it. They will become strong leaders with time.

The fourth category is like the third. They are not building anything, and don’t mind bringing down what you are building, for whatever reason they find. They will be all out to bring you down at the slightest excuse because they have nothing at stake. These ones are neither loyal nor competent. They build nothing and don’t see value in you nor what you are building. They are like viruses. When you find them, flush them out immediately. And where you cannot, keep an eye on them. The primary problem is the state of their heart; they see no good. But then people change, so don’t write them off.

At the end of the day, just know that no matter who you are, you will never have a monopoly of influence on others. This understanding will give you a lot of peace of mind. People will always have their own interests and agenda, either they admit it or not. Yet, to be successful as a leader, you will have to factor in the interests of others in your own agenda.

Ultimately, leadership is about helping others achieve their vision. This can mean two things. First, making your interests become secondary to the common interests of the people that you lead. This can be very difficult to do because as humans, our natural instinct is to prioritize ourselves. Second, it can mean that your vision should be crafted to include that of those that you lead. So that in your success they see the common success of every one of the team. In any case, leadership is not an easy task, and to be selfless is perhaps the most important attribute of a true leader, especially for those at an institutional level.?