LEADERSHIP AND INTEGRITY

Leadership and Integrity

Leadership and Integrity

Introduction

Integrity and leadership work hand in hand and plays a vital role in establishing a positive workplace environment, positive relations between employees and the organization's overall productivity. Any organization that lack in this area can face, as a consequence, a disastrous situation. Integrity and leadership can come together and make up one word, complete leadership. Leaders have significant influence over their team members, keeping integrity as a guiding light while managing people and other activities can set an example for them to follow and make up the organization's culture and mores.

'Leaders of integrity bring quality presence to all they do…Because of their integrity they can attain the characteristics of a successful leader' (Doohan, 2007).

Leading with Integrity

There's a famous saying that good leaders are never born; they are made. Understanding the nature of a strong leader is perhaps a lot easier than practically implying it. A person is not born with the quality of integrity rather it is a 'learned' trait. As same as with fingerprints, every leader comes from different backgrounds and portrays their individual level of integrity in leadership. Integrity is a stable force that enables a person to direct his leadership skills to make sure ethnicity and mores are not impaired. Integrity is what keeps a leader on a right path of leading his team members. The ability of rational decision making and implementation cannot be acquired unless a person possess the trait of integrity in leadership.

'Integrity includes accepting one's own blind spots in abilities and failures' (Doohan, 2007).

Foundations of Integrity in Leadership

Amenability

Take responsibility to whatever you do. Listen to other's views and opinions and agree to the facts that are viable rather than acting as an autocratic leader. Arrogance and dominance is not an acceptable act from a leader of integrity. Flexibility

Conforming to the changing and challenging environment of today's world, being adaptable and flexible is of prime importance. Becoming rigid with your beliefs and cultural background that you come from will lead to major conflicts between the members of the team and affect the productivity of the organization at a broad level. Humility

Humility and modesty in your dealings with other members, in your workgroup and the outside world, can help you keep closely intact with the grounds of veracity and integrity. Being a centre of attention is not a negative approach but you should always realize your personal image and avoid being a part of the gold and glitter syndrome.

Consideration

The consideration towards reconciliation of problems and difficulties is an approach where conflicts can be highly avoided. A compassionate expression towards other people is a positive step towards integrity leadership.

Becoming a Leader of Integrity

Kouzes and Posner (2008) say, 'In today's world, we need leaders with integrity'. It is equally important from a sociological and biological point of view that integrity is derived from the influences a person undergoes with the passage of time. Every individual keeps developing the skills of moral reasoning and decision ...