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The most important thing you can do as a leader is to live your life with a sense of integrity. Why is it important to live with integrity? Well, if you don't set a good example for those around you, how cna you expect them to live up to the standards that you want to set as a group? Being a person of integrity is important because if you don't show others how to be ethical, will those around you be as ethical as you need them to be. As a leader you need to set the standard, and integrity is part of being a good leader.

When I think about the people who I have been lead by in my career, the ones that I respected the most were the ones who were honest with me. If your boss can't be upfront with you, or at least not be misleading, how can you work with that person? How can you get along with someone who you don't think is being honest with you, or being upfront with you when things happen?

It can be tolerated when a co-worker gossips about you, or if someone does something illegal, and they get punished for it. Those are your co-workers, and for the most party you aren't going to be in trouble for the actions of others. What though, if your boss was doing something illegal, or something that could put your job at risk? What do you do then?

If you can't trust your boss to be a person of integrity, what does that say about his bosses? If your boss learned that lying, cheating, and stealing were OK, maybe that is because the culture of the company is to lie and steal without regard for others. That is a terrible standard to set, and one that cannot be tolerated in the workplace.

If your boss, or whoever is calling the shots cannot be honest, and upfront, why would you work for them? I once told my boss that I was going to take a trip, and would need the weekend off. He looked right at me and told me the only thing that he wanted from me was to have a good time. For the next three weeks my hours were cut almost in half, and it wasn't until the next guy dared ask for time off that I got my hours back.

How would you feel if you had to work for someone like that? Would you go into work thinking that today was going to be a gerat day and that you had a purpose to fulfill? Probably not, you would probably feel like somehow you were going to get in trouble, or your job put in jeopardy for no good reason. That hurts morale, and undermines the leader's ability to lead his or her people.

If you are in a leadership role, you need to be honest and upfront with your people. It will instill confidence in those you are leading, and it will help people feel good about coming to work. If you can do that, you will have a happy workforce, and if not, you will have a mopey workforce. The choice is yours.

Learn more about this author, Cody Hodge.
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