The A-Z of Leadership: Integrity

«The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible...» Dwight D. Eisenhower

But what is integrity? I love this quote from C.S. Lewis which puts it so succinctly: «Integrity is about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching» and that’s it, isn’t it? It’s much easier to be honest when everyone’s watching but have you ever been tempted to do something dishonest when no one is? I know I have!

So what is «the right thing»? Well for me integrity in leadership is all about living up to the highest moral standards, being trustworthy, honest, and leading by example.

It’s about saying what you do and doing what you say. It’s also about being accountable and not trying to blame someone else for your own mistakes!

These leaders care for their teams and take the blame when things go wrong but hand out praise to others when things go well.

As a leader you’re a role model but unfortunately I see quite a lot of «do as I say, not as I do» - this attitude destroys trust and can never be the basis for long term success.

We’re all human beings and I would be the first to admit that I have, at times, not acted with 100% integrity – I may have misled a customer or taken credit where non was due - but integrity is also about admitting when we’ve made mistakes and trying not to repeat them.

As Warren Buffet once said «in looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you»

At the end of the day, leaders who have the supreme quality of integrity produce the best results by helping to build a culture in their organisations that encourages happy employees who want to give their best which, in turn produces happy customers. If they want to maximize their bottom line, this is something the CEO should never underestimate.

I’d love to hear of examples from your own organisations!

Cheers, Nick