Integrity is not something that a leader can turn on and off, like some kind of switch or faucet. While some people consider doing the right thing most of the time to have integrity, leaders must maintain absolute integrity, in all situations and conditions, all the time. Thomas Jefferson said, “Whenever you do something, act like the whole world is watching.” When it comes to those in leadership, they don’t have the freedom to pick and choose and selectively exhibit integrity. Real leaders don’t have to think straight and act with integrity, because it’s an ingrained and automatic behavior for them. If someone has to think if something is the right thing, it probably isn’t!
1. Have you ever watched someone in a leadership position say one thing to a set of people or group, and skew their message completely differently when facing another faction? Have you ever seen a wide gap between a leader’s words and his actions? Have you ever noticed someone who instructs others to do something, but seems to have a philosophy of doing what I say, not what I do? Does that give you confidence in that individual? There is an adage that you can fool some people at some point, but true leaders don’t try to fool others. They believe in their message and clearly communicate what they want to do, why, and what they have done and continue to do, to lead the way. When a leader talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk, he clearly has little integrity and is, at best, a false leader. Without absolute integrity, there is no real leadership.
2. The quality and integrity of a leader should best be judged by the consistency of their words, actions, and intentions. If a quality leader makes a mistake or a mistake (which all leaders, no matter how good, do), he acknowledges it and takes personal responsibility. Have you ever observed someone in leadership who seems to believe the revisionist history that he rhetorically asserts? Leaders with integrity admit what has happened and take responsibility for what happens under their watch. False leaders are those who immediately look for a scapegoat, to blame for the situation. If someone in leadership blames others, he is not a true leader. Great leaders do not review history, but seek to improve situations by moving forward with integrity, to make value-based decisions for the future.
Leaders should always behave as if someone is supervising, for many reasons. The unwary fail to realize that not only is this the right behavior, but eventually there is almost always someone who is actually watching!
