Few traitors are more famous than Marcus Brutus of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. Brutus is a close, personal friend of Caesar – the leader of the Roman Empire. Yet, despite their relationship, Brutus joins a group of conspiring assassins and puts a knife in Caesar’s back. As Caesar lies dying, he looks up at his friend and gasps, “Et tu, Brute?” – or roughly translated, “you also, Brutus?”

What compelled Brutus to commit this horrifying act of betrayal? Was it ambition, envy, or a concealed hatred for his friend? Most who read Shakespeare agree that Brutus’ actions weren’t driven by any of these nefarious motives – rather, his actions were rooted in principle. Brutus was persuaded by the other assassins that Caesar was planning to extend his power by abolishing the republic and establishing a monarchy, thus making himself a king. Brutus loved his friend, but he loved freedom and self-rule even more. Ultimately, Brutus’ loyalty to the ideal of a republic drove him to murder and betrayal.

As is common with many of Shakespeare’s plays, Julius Caesar teaches us an important lesson; people aren’t loyal to people – they’re loyal to ideals and principles. If an individual pledges allegiance to a person or group, it is because that person or group embodies principles to which that individual subscribes. When these principles are abandoned or forsaken, loyalty disintegrates. Brutus’ loyalty and friendship to Caesar dissolved when Brutus was led to believe that Caesar was turning his back on principles which Brutus held dear.

Of all the follies which lead to the downfall of promising leaders, this is near the top of list: failure to understand the origin of the loyalty expressed by the people who follow them. Many leaders falsely believe it is their charisma, or other personal attributes which bind their people to them; such a leader will be startled and offended when seemingly innocuous decisions cause those people to start leaving en masse. What this leader doesn’t understand is that the betrayal of his/her people was probably preceded by his/her own betrayal of important principles.

The founders of our nation understood the primacy of principles in securing the loyalty of the people to their government. Just as important as the decision to forge our government in the pattern of democracies and republics of the past, was the decision to build our nation upon the rule of law. More than the will of people, or the will of its leaders, our country would be subject to self-evident principles; despite the tremendous influence wielded by senators, judges and even presidents, the most powerful entity in the United States would be the Constitution.

Similarly, the wisest leaders are willing to largely forfeit their authority to “the rule of law”, or a clearly defined code. Practically speaking, this means they will avoid doing certain things that they technically have the authority to do. The authority of these leaders may appear hollow at first glance – after all, doesn’t power mean that a person can act as he/she sees fit? Nevertheless, it is only this type of restrained, limited and confined authority which has any real permanence.

It’s interesting to stop and take a closer look at what we define as power or authority. For most leaders, their power – or ability to exercise influence according to their own ideas and desires – is largely derived from the loyalty of the people they lead. Loyalty in turn generally results from a sense of consistency that people observe in the principles and ideals to which their leader subscribes. Such consistency leads to expectations; subordinates anticipate that a leader will react to a given situation in a manner consistent with these principles. If the leader abandons theses principles, the people will begin to abandon the leader. Thus, leaders can only retain authority by exercising restraint in their use of power.

Leaders must actively seek to understand the common ideals or principles responsible for loyalty of their subordinates. Such understanding isn’t merely a component of effective leadership – it can be vital to a leader’s survival! Granted, most leaders won’t face the same life-and-death dilemma of Julius Caesar; nevertheless, if they are to maintain their authority then loyalty must be cultivated and jealously preserved. After all, you can only call yourself a leader when loyal people are willing to follow you.

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