In reality, we can tolerate some dissent, but it gets old rapidly when we figure it is getting in the way of our getting things done, especially done "our way."
As leaders move up the ladder of authority and responsibility they begin to expect that people will agree with them and what it is that they are looking to do. It becomes rarer to experience people coming to you and not agreeing with your course of action. Thus, you become shielded from many opinions that might actually be helpful in understanding the full scope of that it is you want to accomplish.
It is a rare breed of individual who has access to senior leaders who will express their personal opinions when they know they are directly contrary to what the leader believes or wants to do.
Which brings me to what it means to be loyal to your boss. Loyalty is not telling him or her what he or she wants to hear. Loyalty is giving the boss your best thinking, facts and opinions on courses of action, people, etc., even when you know that it runs contrary to their thinking. Your mission is not to make the boss happy, your mission is to serve by improving their decision making. Perhaps the course of action will not change based on what you say. No matter, you must, if you are loyal, provide your honest opinions.
All of the above is much harder if the boss is one who might have a tantrum or two in the past when disagreeable information is presented. To that I say, "bad news does not get better with age." Take it to the boss and get it over with. And, if you are the boss, be careful how you receive unwanted information. How you react may cause some, if not most people, to stop bringing you facts and information that will cause the boss to shoot the messenger.
I'll be honest with you. What I'm advising above is not necessarily career enhancing. I personally have tried to model the above in all my dealings with my leadership and I can tell you, poor leaders don't take it well. Be that as it may, I sleep well at night and know that I've done the right thing in being loyal, even though it was not received as such by some.
Speaking truth to power is a nice phrase, but you need to be brave to do it.
