Integrity: The Supreme Quality of True Leaders

 

Integrity is the ante into the game of real leadership. Integrity is easy to put on a company poster, coffee mug, tee shirt or PowerPoint slide. It's harder to put into practice.  

Integrity acts as a moral compass. Just as a ships’ crew used the Sextant to navigate the high seas, leaders use integrity to guide their conduct with others. Integrity is vital for forming and sustaining healthy and profitable professional and personal relationships.

Integrity reflects a person’s true character and is their best friend. The esteemed nineteenth-century American playwright Nathaniel Hawthorne offered this insight: “No man can for any considerable time wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one.”

Anytime you compromise your integrity, you do yourself an incredible amount of damage. That’s because integrity really is your best friend. It will never betray you or put you in a compromising position. It keeps your priorities right. When you’re tempted to take shortcuts, it helps you stay on the right course. When others criticize you unfairly, it helps you keep going and take the high road of not striking back. And when others’ criticism is valid, integrity helps you accept what they say, learn from it and keep growing.

When people around you know that you’re a leader with integrity, they know that you want to influence them because of the opportunity to add value to their lives. They don’t have to worry about your motives.

One of the reasons people struggle with integrity issues is that they tend to look outside themselves to explain any deficiencies in character. But developing and sustaining integrity is an inside job. Psychologist Sheldon Koop asserts, “All the significant battles are waged within self.” Integrity is not determined by circumstances and it is not based on credentials, it is governed by the choices we make. And the choices we make—make us.  

Wendell Phillips said, “The price of integrity is everlasting vigilance.”  

The following questions can help assess and elevate your level of integrity:

1. Do I consistently treat people that work for me with respect even when I am under pressure?
2. Am I the same person when I’m in the spotlight as I am when I’m alone?
3. Do I tell half-truths because the whole truth is uncomfortable?
4. How well do I treat people from whom I can gain nothing?
5. Do I quickly admit wrongdoing without being pressed to do so?
6. When I have something difficult to say about people, do I talk to them or about them?
7. Do I act consistently in what I say and do?
8. Do I have an unchanging standard for ethical/moral decisions, or do circumstances determine my choices?
9. Do I make difficult decisions, even when they have a personal cost attached to them?
10. Do I seek personal gain above shared gain?

The bottom line when it comes to integrity is that it inspires trust in you. And without trust, you have nothing. Trust is the single most important factor in any relationship. It is the glue that holds people together. And it is the key to being a leader that exerts positive influence on those around them. When you earn people’s trust, you begin to earn their confidence, and that is one of the keys to influence. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his opinion on the subject this way: “In order to be a leader, a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence, the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”  

When people trust you, your level of influence increases. And that’s when you will be able to start impacting their lives. But it’s also the time to be careful because power can be a dangerous thing. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test the man’s character, give him power.”

C.S. Lewis remarked, "Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching." Click here to read a short story related to Lewis' quote called "Catch of a Lifetime."

Check out a related post: Why Should Anyone Trust You to Lead?

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

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Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.