I am so happy writing to you on the last day of March.
March has been an exciting month of sharing leadership insights with you.
And as we gradually come to the end of our “How Do We Become Great Leaders” series, I am already eager to see what lies ahead and what we will start talking about next.
Last week, we explored humility and how it makes leaders great.
You know, I really enjoyed writing about the importance of humility in leadership.
Great leaders are humble leaders who understand the power of humility and servant leadership.
We will never be able to tap fully into the potential of our leadership abilities if we don’t embrace the principles of humility and servant leadership.
Humility in leadership tends to open up hidden, fresh realms and possibilities in leadership.
If you discover that your leadership journey is dull and dry, it could be that you’ve not incorporated servant leadership and humility into your leadership style.
What humility and servant leadership do to our leadership is that it helps us explore the hidden treasures in the hearts of those above, on our level and those following us.
Humility and servant leadership are the ultimate motivation and inspiration for followers, subordinates, and superiors.
Now, to the day’s business—integrity.
What Is Integrity?
Integrity is one of the primary tools serious leaders require to survive in today’s world.
Integrity is like a hidden network of iron frames that strengthen our character and person as leaders.
Integrity is all about having uncompromising principles.
It takes a leader with a very solid grasp of the importance of integrity to actually uphold moral principles and stand by the right things no matter what.
Integrity is about being radically honest, wholly ethical and openly fair.
It’s about making decisions that are in the team’s best interest, even if they are not the easiest or most popular.
It’s about treating everyone with respect and fairness, regardless of their position or background.
It’s, honestly, not easy to be a person of integrity in a world where honesty, ethics and fairness are scarce commodities because people feel you can cut corners, bend the rules and do small, hidden things to get by.
But people and leaders who understand integrity know that it pays to be led by the light of integrity.
People follow leaders because they want someone to trust. They need someone who can lead them and show them the way.
Integrity strengthens our credibility.
“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
Warren Buffett.
Everyone Is Watching!
The leader who prides themselves on integrity lives their leadership life as if everyone in the world were seeing all the hidden things they do.
The decisions they make, the steps they take, the reasons behind why they do what they do—they live their life open!
That’s the formula that guides their life as leaders.
Nothing is hidden.
I learned the principles of integrity very early in life.
Like most young men, I had my own share of doing grey stuff and things we weren’t proud of.
It took some serious, deliberate, and conscious retrospection to discover that when we do the wrong things, we are always looking for ways to cover them up.
Lie, cut corners and do everything possible to cover the ugliness.
But on the other hand, when you do the right thing and follow truth and honesty, you’re calm within, not agitated or worried about anyone discovering your hidden stuff.
Your integrity is preserved.
Look at integrity like this.
When you buy, let’s say, a substandard tool from the market, you would be very careful how you use it so that it doesn’t spoil your work. But when you buy the original stuff, you’re not worried about using it or worried that it would spoil your work.
That’s the way integrity is for leaders.
Leaders who have integrity built into their framework bring peace to wherever they work.
The company employing them is at peace, and they are not worried that anything is going to go wrong, unlike leaders who don’t care about integrity.
They would lie, cheat, and even hurt others to get things done.
Nothing Is Hidden
It doesn’t matter how much you cover your grey or dark doings. A day shall come when it will all be exposed. It’s a natural rule of life.
When we build our leadership on lies, cheating, and dishonesty, we’re essentially constructing on sand.
Sooner or later, storms will come to test the integrity and credibility of our work.
This realization should make us more cautious and vigilant, guiding us to always choose the path of integrity in our leadership journey.
Young leaders are admonished to start building their leadership careers on integrity.
It might not be very popular.
It might look like old school or outdated.
Everyone might be doing little things here and there to cut corners.
What you must know is that the world appreciates, loves and honours great leaders with integrity because they are the ones who lead better and last longer.
How To Build Integrity?
I would have really loved to finish writing about integrity today, but I will stop here, and hopefully, we can finish next week.
Can you build integrity?
Yes.
We can.
Can we rebuild integrity?
Well, to an extent, we can; however, it greatly depends on the extent of damage done by the lack of integrity; most times, it might have eaten so deep that the damage might be irreparable.
However, if you’re a new leader just coming into a leadership position, you must start with the heart to lead with integrity.
To do the right things consistently, whether it’s convenient or not. Whether it’s popular or not.
Next week, we will discuss practical ways to build integrity as leaders.
If you’re just joining us, reading from the beginning here would be more beneficial. Additionally, if you’re not yet part of our community, consider joining us on Substack.
Looking forward to seeing you next week!
