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Highintegrityleaderscrucialtoanorganization'ssuccess

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Therehavecertainlybeenafeweyecatchingnewspaperheadlineslatelythathaveservedtofuelourfeelingsofcynicism
aboutleadershipintegrity,especiallyonthepoliticalscene.Onboththelocalandnationalscene,we'vebeenexposedtoa
perceptionofselfservingpowerandinfluencearisingfromdeeprootedfriendshipsaswellasbackroompolitical
manipulationsusedinanattempttodiscardindividualswhoareperceivedasarisk.

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Postedon23March2015

PaulTherrien

Yet,situationsinvolvingthelossofintegrityarenotonlyfoundinthepoliticalarena,theyalsooccurinourbusiness
environments,perhapsmorefrequentlythanwewouldliketoadmit.
YoumayrecallthefamouscollapseofthefinancialempirecreatedbyBernardMadoff,whowasfoundtobeaninvestment
fraudartist.Aswell,thecollapseofU.S.basedEnronCorp.,aleaderinenergy,naturalgas,communicationsandpulpand
paperwithmorethan20,000employees,isnotfarfromourmemories.TheleadershipatEnronwasfoundtohave
systematicallyengagedinaccountingfraudandcorruption,whichwassupportedbytheArthurAndersonaccountingand
consultingfirm.Bothwentbankruptwhilekeyleadersheadedtoprison.
Whilemostleadersdon'tengageinfraudulentbehaviour,I'veencounteredmanyindividualswholiveonwhatIcallthe"grey
edge."Inotherwords,whiletheyaren'tengaginginanythingillegal,theirbehaviour,inmyview,canbeconsidered
unethical.Anditonlytakesonemoresteptocrosstheline.Aperceptionofunethicalbehaviouralsocreatesasenseof
mistrustandalossofintegrity.Peoplesimplyloserespectforthistypeofleader.
Yet,whatexactlyisintegrity?Integrityisdefinedastheconsistencybetweenwhataleadersaysandwhattheleaderdoes.
It'sanalignmentbetweenaperson'svalues,beliefs,wordsandactions,aswellastheextenttowhichpromisesarekept.
Integrityisalsoperceivedtobecloselyrelatedtohonesty,trustworthinessandfairnessandisfrequentlythoughttobea
measureofgoodmoralcharacter.
Finally,integrityisjudgedbyhowcloselytheleader'sbehaviourandactionsareconsistentwiththemoralframeworksofa
communityand/ororganization.
However,onemightquestionwhyitissoimportantforourleaderstodemonstrateintegrity.Firstofall,individualsdon'tlike
uncertainty,andsincetheyarespeculatingonaleader'sachievementsinthefuture,theyneedsomewaywithwhichto
makeadecision.Secondly,especiallyfornewcomerleaders,thereislittleinformationonanindividual'sprovenskillswith
whichtomakedecisions.Thirdly,mostpeopleareapprehensiveofthefutureandareafraidofbeingexploitedorexcludedat
somepoint.Therefore,peoplefrequentlymaketheirdecisiontofollowsomeonebyassessingpersonalintegrity.
Peoplewantaleaderwhopractiseswhatheorshepreaches,whofollowsthroughonpromisesandwho"walksthetalk."
Onceindividualsaresatisfiedwiththeirpersonalassessment,they'llmakeadecisionastowhomtheywilltrust,towhom
theywillbeloyalandhowhardthey'llworkfortheirselectedleader.
Therefore,sincepeoplejudgeintegritybytheconsistency,credibilityandreliabilityofaleader'sbehaviour,howdoweknow
itwhenweseeit?Thefollowingdescriptorswillassistyoutoconfirmyourperceptionsofintegrity.
1. ContinuousPersonalGrowth:Leaderswithhighlevelsofintegrityareinconstantlearningmode.Theyare
ruthlesslyhonestwiththemselves,seekguidancetodiscoverandworkaroundtheirblindspotsandarealways
learningandgrowingasleaders.
2. Apromiseisapromise:Highintegrityleaderskeeptheirpromises,andiftheycan'tmeettheagreedupontimeline,
theywillstayincommunicationwithyouuntilthepromisehasbeenkept.
3. Reliability:Justaswepurchaseprovenbrands,leaderswhoareshowntobereliableandcanbecountedonwill
attractmorefollowers.Reliableleadersstickwithproblemsandissuesuntiltheyareresolvedfromawin/winpointof
viewandastrongconsiderationforallstakeholdersinvolved.
4. Accountability:Highintegrityleadersdon'tjustblameothersand/ortaketheblamethemselves,theyownthe
situationandallofitsoutcomes.Theseleadersquicklyinterveneinanissue,evaluateunintendedimpact,takesteps

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9signsofintegrityinleadersLegacyBowesGroupArticles

torectifythesituationandstayinclosecommunicationwithstakeholdersuntilthejobisdone.
5. Responsiveness:Thereisnothingmorefrustratingthanwaitingforaleadertorespondtoyourquery.Highintegrity
leadersaregoodtimemanagersandwilleitherrespondimmediatelyand/orwillinformyouwhentheycangetback
toyourissue.Ifthesituationisacrisis,theywillbethereforyou.
6. Doingtherightthing:Highintegrityleadershavestrongmoralprinciples.Youcancountonthemdotherightthing,
attherighttimeandforalltherightreasons.Theseleadershavehighpersonalstandardsandholdtheirteam
membersandtheircorporationtothesamehighstandards.Theythenassesseachdecisionandactionagainsttheir
organizationalstandards.
7. Respectfulness:Respectisearnedandisdonesobyshowingrespectandanacceptancetowardothers.
Respectingothersmeansunderstandingdifferentvaluesandbeliefs,recognizing,acceptinganddevelopingthe
skillsofothersandincludingallemployeesaspartoftheteam.Respectalsomeanscommunicatingandinteracting
withindividualsbyputtingthemonthesameplayingfield.
8. Accessibility:Highintegrityleadersarephysicallypresentandmakethemselvesavailableandaccessibletotheir
staff.Theyinteractwithandinviteemployeestosharetheirissuestheyarealwaysavailabletostopandlisten.
9. Transparency:Highintegrityleadersensuretheiractionsare"seen"astrustworthyandcreateasenseofcertainty
ratherthanuncertainty.Theyexhibitopennesswithrespecttoinformation,financesandvariousoperational
transactionsandbusinessdealings.Whenexaminedbyothers,theiractionsleadtotrustingrelationships.

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Whetherasinglelapseofintegrityand/orasacontinuouswayofdoingbusiness,unethical,nonintegrityleadership
behaviournotonlyhasthepowertoruinacareer,butithasthepowertototallydestroyanorganization.Whenintegrityis
destroyed,confidencegoesbythewaysideandmaynevereverreturn.Unfortunately,thereareoftenmorepeoplehurtthan
canbeimaginedjustaskthe20,000Enronstaffwhosuddenlylosttheirjobthroughnofaultoftheirown.

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Source:WhydoesLeaderIntegrityMattertoFollowers?AnUncertaintyManagementExplanation,RobertH.Moorman,
CreightonUniversity,(US)andStevenGrover,UniversityofOtago,NewZealand,InternationalJournalofLeadership
Studies,vol.5Issue2,2009.
keyleadershipcompetencies,bestleadershipstyles,bossintegrity,signsofintegrity,
qualitiesofsuccessfulleaders

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