Survey after survey after survey confirms that what people value most in leaders is…
Integrity
A simple way to describe integrity is that it’s all about:
‘Saying what you will do and doing what you say’
Integrity is defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles and the consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, expectations and outcomes in delivering these principles.
The word "integrity" stems from the Latin adjective integer (whole, complete). Integrity is the inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character.
With that in mind, let’s explore the damning conclusion in the “update” of the Gray report which stated that there had been "failures of leadership and judgement" in 10 Downing Street.
To paraphrase the classic song by The Clash, the question of “should he stay or should he go now?” has been on the lips of many.
Without getting into the politics of the situation, let’s use a ‘leadership lens’ to explore what can be done.
Leadership has been described as the ability to influence others and in order to guide and influence others, trust is essential. Trust stems from integrity – remember, integrity is the key value that people are looking for most from their leaders.
In order to be able to influence others effectively, leaders must embrace integrity and live it in their daily job. Self-awareness is important when you are leading. Leaders thus need to look into a mirror and examine if they themselves are living their own leadership values.
From the definition of integrity above and the confirmation that integrity and trust are essential leadership qualities, what would you recommend if someone external to an organisation identified that there was a failure of leadership and judgement in the workplace?
Leadership values are one of many key aspects addressed on the QuoLux™ LEAD™ program.
If you are interested in finding out more about how we help our delegates to improve their leadership skills in order to develop themselves, their teams and their organisations, please get in touch with Jo Draper or Stewart Barnes. Our next effective leadership program for senior leaders (LEAD™) starts in April.
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