by Charles Ray

Created on: March 03, 2009

In order to be successful in business, whether you work for a non-profit or for profit organization, in the private or public sector, as a leader, integrity is one of your most important assets. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say it is the most important leadership trait.

An organization must have a system of shared values if it is to prosper. In order to develop these shared values, the leadership must transmit a sense of honesty and integrity to each member of the organization. Character and integrity in a leader is not really something you can describe; it is something that is demonstrated. It shows in everything the leader says and does.

People want to be part of something meaningful. As a leader, it is up to you to help them find that sense of meaning. A strong sense of shared values motivates people to achieve beyond their expectations. When every member of an organization feels a genuine committment to the goals and values of the organization, great things are possible. When people take ownership of the value system of the organization, in fact, few things are impossible.

How do you go about building shared values in your organization? It's actually very simple. You do it by example. When your subordinates see that you are not just paying lip service to the ideals of honesty and integrity, they too will sign on and follow your lead. When your every word and action illustrates and validates your committment to integrity, you are adding yet another building block to the edifice of integrity. You must not only 'talk the talk,' you must 'walk the talk.'

I once worked in an office that had very stringent regulations regarding the security of proprietary documents. Letters of reprimand were issued to any employee who failed to properly secure them at the end of the day. On one particular day, I was preoccupied and had to leave the office early. I had not noticed that my secretary had already gone for the day because of an illness in her family (or perhaps in my rush, I had forgotten), and I left a sensitive document in her inbox. The next morning I came to work and found her in tears at her desk. She was holding a reprimand that had been issued to her because the night guards had found the document on her desk.

I knew right away that it was the document that I had put there. I also knew that she did not know that, because up until that time I had a reputation for being a stickler about security. I could have let it go, and no one but me would have known. But, I did know, and I also knew that it wasn't right to let someone else suffer for my action. So, I immediately went to the security office and explained what happened and insisted that they cancel the reprimand for my secretary and issue it to me instead. It was a small thing, since with only one letter, neither she nor I would suffer much, but it had large consequences. The story quickly spread around the organization; the old man is a real stand-up guy; he doesn't let the little people suffer on his behalf. Morale soared, and from that day on, personnel in the organization couldn't do enough for me. The most important thing, though, is that it became clear that my memos and speeches about honesty and integrity were not just more bureaucratic bull, I was serious. And, if I was serious, everyone else felt that they also had to be serious.

How important is integrity to leadership? All important. Without integrity, you are not a leader, you're a gangster.

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