You can’t fake loyalty.
You earn it. You prove it. And if you’re lucky, you’re surrounded by people who embody it.
I learned about leadership in a fire base—but I live it every day in my tech career. And the heart of it, then and now, is always the same:
Loyalty.
Not the Buzzword Kind—The Real Kind
Real loyalty isn’t about following blindly. It’s about:
- Showing up when it’s hard
- Telling the truth when no one wants to hear it
- Protecting people when they don’t even know they need it
That’s the kind of loyalty I saw in my team. And that’s the kind I bring into every team I work with now.
Leading Like a Soldier, Not a Boss
I’ve led small dev squads and mentored junior engineers. I don’t lead with authority—I lead with reliability.
When people know you’ll be there, always, they trust you.
When you back them up, even in silence, they remember it.
That’s loyalty in action. And that’s what creates real leadership.
Even My Dog Knows This
My Great Dane is loyal in a way that teaches me every day. Calm. Steady. Always there—even when I’m not at my best.
We could all lead like that.
Keep following this journey at jameshenderson.online—where loyalty leads, and tech follows.