Loyalty

This past week Scott McClellan's new tell all book of the Bush Presidency has created some buzz. I haven't read the book, but the story is that McClellan has turned on his old boss by saying, for example, Bush mislead on the run up the war, for example. The most interesting assessment of McClellan and the book comes from Byron York. Here is one excerpt:

He [McClellan] was there because he was extremely loyal to George W. Bush, and there was a group of people who came with Bush from Texas -- Harriet Miers, Alberto Gonzales. Perhaps Matthew Dowd was in this group. These were people who were not particularly conservative. In some cases, they weren't even Republicans. So they come here, and their only thing is their big loyalty to Bush.

I think this analysis is about right. Although loyalty is a great thing in a family, including a dog, loyalty is overrated by many managers. Ironically, Bush came to the White House as one of the few, if only, MBA’s. Unfortunately, he has consistently overvalued loyalty in his selection of some top lieutenants. Also ironic in this case is that loyalty does not guarantee someone won’t go off the reservation. As York notes later, people like McClellan (especially ones put in a job they are unfit for) are likely to become disillusioned and turn on the very person they admire. Managers of all ilk should read this as a cautionary tale.