Leadership - Integrity
Integrity
Definition
A dictionary definition is:
‘Adherence to moral principles or honesty’.
Absence of integrity
Often, we only think about integrity when it isn’t there. When scandal raises its head there is usually a lack of integrity.
This is often as a result of having choices and making the wrong one.
If you are torn between a task that you ought to do and one that you want to do often if there is a lack of integrity and the latter takes precedence.
The choice of personal gain over ‘duty’ is usually seen as an example of lack of integrity.
If the choice is extreme, leading to personal and organisational embarrassment then influence is lost as well as a career.
By making particular choices it tells people ‘who you are’ and indicates how you will react in certain situations.
People will summarise these actions in their own minds and rapidly decide if they can trust you or not.
Most of the time, a lack of integrity will indicate low honesty leading to a lack of trust, loss of influence and fast reduction in leadership credibility.
Most have heard of the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’.
Experience tells us that what people ‘say’ and what people ‘do’ must coincide to engender trust.
People respond mainly to visual stimuli, about 90%, nearly 10% from hearing and a minor percentage from other stimuli.
So, it is not surprising that people want actions more than good words.
Importance of integrity
When we first meet an individual the initial response is based largely on what we see.
We see an image. This is what people think you are.
Your integrity establishes what you actually are.
Integrity must be maintained as you move up the leadership ladder.
- If you don’t have credibility by maintaining integrity trust will be lost along with your leadership.
- Your character will determine the nature of your team of organisation.
- Integrity leads to high standards. As you rise up the leadership ladder your responsibilities to others will increase and your own rights will diminish. This movement from looking after yourself to looking out for others cements trust from others.
- Image can be transient but integrity is permanent.
- In many quality control situations it is the process that leads to a quality product. If the process is good the product will turn out well.
- It is the same for leadership. If integrity is present many other aspects will fall into place. Without it you will fail.
- Saying that you have integrity is not necessary. A true leader’s integrity will stand out.
Remember that integrity takes a lot of time to build up and only a moment to knock down.