Integrity
The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
It’s a pretty simple definition yet powerful in just what it says. Starting off with “being honest.”
I’ve been lied to in the workplace and I’ve been lied to in an advisory role with people I considered colleagues. I’ve been ordered to lie by a cowardly leader (HERE -I refused by the way). There isn’t much I can think of that eliminates the integrity of an individual in the workplace and in their elected position more quickly than lying. It’s impossible to be honest, have strong moral principles- to have integrity– and lie. But politicians and people in positions of power do it all the time.
Courage
Courage and integrity are interwoven. It is practically impossible to be courageous and not have integrity, and equally, it is practically impossible to be a coward, yet have integrity.
Leaders direct their subordinates, their citizens, their employees, to a direction. Sometimes it is simply to go in the same direction they have been going. Or maybe it is an about face and the opposite direction. Sometimes it is toward a new, never-before-attempted goal. And sometimes it’s just nowhere. But leaders, whether courageous or cowardly, with or without integrity, all have people who are looking to them to set a direction and then follow through.
Follow-the-Leader
It’s called Follow-the-LEADER for a reason…
Before anyone will follow, which is a voluntary decision, we need to know that our leader has courage and has integrity. We want, at least I want, integrity and courage in the person I report to. I want to know that person will stand up for me. That she looks out for me, not just herself. That she is a courageous leader, not a cowardly one. I expect and assume that she will be honest.
A leader with integrity and courage gives me the encouragement and faith to stand up in turn for the people who report to me. They have my back, so I can have the backs of my employees. That is the very essence and fundamental structure of a strong organization. An organization with integrity.
Easy vs. Hard; Safe vs. Risky
Elected officials, political appointments, people in positions of power, all have the potential of moving the organization ahead, and creating a culture of enthusiasm and passion. Conversely, they have the potential of crushing morale, causing a “me first” environment, and traveling the safe route and practicing the “we’ve always done it that way” mindset.
There is an old saying:
Cowardly leaders stay in port. Follow the easy path. Defer and even abdicate their power (for more about abdicating power, read this). They worry about their reputation, and their ability to be re-elected. They govern based on how they are perceived in public. Politically appointed cowardly leaders are primarily concerned with keeping their appointed position. Being the “yes man” to whatever they are asked, rather than making the choice to do the right thing when necessary.
Serving and doing the right thing for the citizens that pay their salary? Nah, that’s down the list of priorities.
The strong moral principle assigned to integrity means that a courageous leader assumes accountability. Not just assumes, but actually welcomes, and requests accountability. The true leader says, “I’ve got this.” The cowardly leader says, “You take this.”
Simon Sinek, whom I quote often, said something that really stuck with me because it is so simple, so apparent, and yet something I had never really considered. He said, “The easiest thing a leader will ever do is tell the truth.”
A corollary is, “The easiest thing a leader will ever do is practice integrity.”
II-19
