Loyalty is having your people’s backs, through thick and thin.

Loyalty is not blaming your employee when he/she makes a mistake.

Loyalty is fighting for your partners/colleagues/friends, even when you know you’re going to lose.

Loyalty is looking after a team member when she gets sick, even if the sickness prevents her from doing her job.

Loyalty engenders loyalty. If you are loyal to your people, they will be loyal back to you.

You can have competence and integrity, but if you don’t have loyalty you can’t be a leader.

Just watch out for blind loyalty. Many Steinhoff employees were blindly loyal to Markus Jooste and see where it got them.

Be loyal but ask questions.