The relationship between leaders and those they lead in Italian culture runs on mutual trust and loyalty. You give trust, you get trust. You look after your people, they look after you.
This is not transactional in the cold sense—it is relational and personal. When you advocate for your team, when you demonstrate that you value and protect them, they respond with deep personal loyalty that extends beyond their formal obligations. But this works in both directions: if you betray that trust—by failing to support them, by taking credit for their work, by being disloyal when it matters—the breach is felt personally and can permanently damage your ability to lead that group. Loyalty is earned through consistent action, not declared through words.
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