Some (non-Trumpian) thoughts on Loyalty.

Donald Trump, the knuckle-scraping, mouth breathing leader of the free world, has spouted recently about loyalty.

When he says loyalty, what he really means is obeisance. Deference to him no matter what. 

Loyalty, to my mind is much more complex that mere obedience. 

I happen to believe, in the context of agency life (and life in general if you can extrapolate) there are three cuts of loyalty.

ONE:

There's loyalty to your boss. As long as your boss recognizes you for your talent and supports and promotes you--even if you happen to be more talented than he or she--you owe that person loyalty.

TWO:

There's loyalty to your craft. This is adherence to your belief of what good is and being unwavering and uncompromising in that.

THREE:

Most important, there's loyalty to yourself. Belief that your essential talent, determination and such are deserving of respect and reward. This sort of loyalty overlaps with integrity. The moral standards you adhere to in order to uphold your standards. You don't steal. You don't connive. You speak your mind.

The mistake people make is they forget the third type of loyalty--loyalty to yourself. People who ignore that loyalty inherently believe loyalty cuts only one way. Their refrain is usually something like: they give me a paycheck, I give them loyalty. You know, the "I guess I'm lucky to have a job" loyalty.

All I can say to that is, grow up and be loyal.