Integrity: My signature leadership commitment

As a leader, I have a steadfast adherence to integrity. Erick Rainey defines integrity as “the subtle and profound internal compass in the workplace.” When you flick the switch of integrity, it makes the entire organisation’s light shine. It guarantees internal unity, completeness, coherence and unimpaired wholesomeness.

Ray Stata noted that leadership starts with integrity and blossoms with it. The leader must be believed and believable. He must be trustworthy and always committed to open and sincere dialogue instead of manipulation, grandstanding and an insensitive disposition.

According to Laurent Blossom, leadership is the ability to get your people to do the right thing at the right time with conviction and enthusiasm. Integrity fends off negative energy and fuels credible and positive energy. Dale Carnegie pointed out that you cannot win friends, influence people and succeed in business without integrity. Success and growth are sapped by the negatives of non-adherence to integrity.

Corporate malfeasance should be a “no, no.” Integrity enables blessings but dishonesty would take others down with it.

However, integrity is not just morals and ethics. It is not just a safeguard from doing bad things such as manipulating results and figures, stealing, lying, cheating, being duplicitous or deceptive and being two-faced, pride, gossip and backbiting, mischief-making, sycophancy and grandstanding. Morals and ethics must be combined with “character.” Character is that foundational and fundamental imperative to securing relationships in organisations and governments at all levels.

Before I go on to explain the characteristics that undergird integrity in the workplace, let us examine the guiding principle of a profession like insurance (fortunately, I am a leader in the insurance industry and have been in the vanguard of dynamism in delivering beneficial value-offerings). The principle is called “utmost good faith.”

Fortunately, technology has put an end to the era of “small prints” and we now have clarity to such an extent that insurers and clients can cross-check everything online. “Utmost Good Faith” insists on full and documented disclosure by the two parties involved in the contract.

Integrity helps us to know who a person truly is. Who a person is would ultimately determine whether his brain, talent, competencies, energy, effort and performance abilities would make him succeed at the end of the day.

Successful leaders as well as associates have three fundamental qualities, according to Dr. Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist and leadership coach.

Number one is “competencies.” You must be an expert in your field and be very good at what you do. There are no shortcuts. The second quality is accomplishment. Your competencies must be leveraged with the competencies of others to achieve larger goals and great heights. The makeup of an organisation is the combination of competencies with resources in relationships that are mutually beneficial. If you want to be valuable in your organisation, do not stay in your corner and be moving with your little piece. Leveraging multiple competencies in smart organisations achieves objectives and goals. This is deeper and greater than networking.

Thirdly, if you do not make integrity your guiding principle and commitment, this would get in the way of your talent and competence. You must be a man of honour and always do the right thing even when nobody is watching you. Complete and excellent “make-up” of a person would make him achieve success and also sustain it.

The successful leader must gain the trust and confidence of the people he is leading. He must not hide his weaknesses or blind spots. Let your colleagues fill in whenever it is appropriate. Also, encourage relevant employees to see, appreciate and work on the “blind spots” of customers and company’s projects. Everybody must be engaged in identifying and fully exploiting opportunities. External realities must also be clearly identified and taken good care of.

You cannot achieve desirable outcomes in spite of abilities and adequate resources if the makeup of leaders and associates is not aligning. Do you know that it is integrity that would put you in a good stead to successfully deal with toxic employees, obstacles, negative situations and occasional setbacks?

Character strengths would give congruence of beneficial behaviours and create growth. Integrity would also make you transcend your own interests and launch you into larger purposes. You will not be stuck at your limited level but attain performance ceilings and even break the ceilings.

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Strategic communication or “shooting your shot” creditably and successfully is only possible with very robust integrity. You would, with honesty, communicate with purpose while clearly showcasing values. It is only with integrity that you would evoke desirable responses and achieve engagement.

Do you know that relationship without trust cannot stand the test of time? John Lennon said that “being honest may not get you many friends, but it will always get you the right ones.”

Let me conclude by pointing out that it is only with integrity that you can transmit enthusiasm to employees and associates, and thereby achieve expected goals.