So let’s get this out of the way right up front. If you’re not leading with integrity then you’re simply not leading.
You’re not leading because leading requires that someone is following you. A true follower will have some level of commitment to their leader. People can be forced to comply with someone in a leadership position but they cannot be forced to commit.
In fact, they cannot commit. It is not possible for one human being to truly commit to another human being that they do not trust. Integrity is the foundation upon which trust is built. Where there is no integrity there can be no trust.
Having integrity is a choice. It’s a choice to do what you said you would do, even if you no longer feel like doing it. You may have never thought of it like this but you have an “Integrity Bank.” Every time you do exactly what you committed to do you’ll receive a small deposit into that Credibility Bank. When you fail to honor a commitment, any commitment, you suffer a substantial withdrawal from your Credibility Bank.
That may not seem fair but that’s the way it works. You don’t need to have too many withdrawals to reach a zero balance in your bank. That means zero credibility and that means zero committed followers.
Authentic Leaders know that their most valuable “currency” is their credibility. They know that without it that can not have a positive influence on those they hope to lead. So they honor their commitments. They follow through. They keep their word. They don’t say yes when they need to say no.
Their people know that they can trust their leader. Their people know that their leader is committed to them so they can commit to their leader.
Every committed relationship is built on a foundation of integrity. It’s the single most important foundation in any relationship. What Authentic Leaders understand that many lesser leaders don’t is this one irrefutable fact….you either have integrity 100% of the time or you do not have integrity.
Integrity is a full-time gig. It’s not something you do at work. It’s not something you do at home. It’s not something you do with people who matter to you. It’s just something you do because it’s who you are. It’s part of your DNA.
Or it’s not. The great thing is that it’s a part of your DNA that you get to control. The only question is, will you choose to control it.
Integrity is the key ingredient that separate Pundits who walk the walk from those who talk the talk. Keep blogging. Keep inspiring
Thank you, I couldn’t agree more. What many lesser leaders fail to realize is that their people can spot a lack of integrity about a mile away. Just look, if the words and the actions don’t match up there is not much integrity to be seen.