Don’t underestimate the power of duty, commitment and loyalty

Locale CEO, Guy Windsor-Lewis, reflects on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s powerful legacy of duty, commitment and loyalty on her first death anniversary.

One year ago, the nation and the entire globe, for that matter, came to a standstill to mourn and pay their respect to Great Britain’s longest serving and respected monarch – Queen Elizabeth II.

A towering figure for multiple generations, she left behind a remarkable legacy, exemplifying duty, commitment and loyalty that we can all be inspired by.

Duty is something we must never take lightly. Witnessing the way in which the late Queen dedicated her life to duty, especially when facing and learning from the many trials and tribulations throughout her life, was something I will never forget. At Locale, one of our principal values is the fact that we care and this is why I take my duty as a leader very seriously too. My duty towards my colleagues and team, that work incredibly hard to ensure we are growing and evolving is as important as the duty I give to our clients and partners. We care about what we do, how we go about it, and underpinned by honesty and integrity we understand the importance we play in ensuring our platform is delivering best-in-class occupier experiences.

The Queen’s commitment to her work was relentless. Ensuring she was constantly updated on the news agenda, always striving to understand the changing temperament of the British people and meeting with the everyday person in engagements across the country and around the world, it was exemplary. In this day and age, being committed is something we sometimes take for granted. In my opinion, don’t! In any environment – be that at home or work, commitment will always take you far especially in the long run. In an age where we have a lot of choice and probably suffer too much from the “grass-is-greener syndrome” the value of commitment means we are grounded, focused and results-driven.

I once read that loyalty was something leaders don’t always consider a valuable trait as a leader. I disagree. The loyalty the late Queen showed us when the chips were down was second to none. Her loyalty to the British people certainly came through during the pandemic and that was certainly repaid at key events and, of course, during the mourning period immediately after her death.

In our world, loyalty works both ways. On the one hand, as a leader, I recognise that I have back my team and ensure I am loyal to them – protecting and supporting them as and when they need me. On other hand, finding loyal employees is somewhat challenging. Nowadays, we always aim to find top performers, keep them happy and keep them from leaving but that is only half of the battle. Loyal employees are often just as important as or more important than the top performers. Every great team needs them. They are dependable, reliable and committed; they are your proudest ambassadors, building credibility and instilling a proactive attitude with teams that tends to be contagious.

One year on, I am reminded daily by the legacy the late Queen left behind and I have no doubt this will continue to enrich us.