Even though Leadership can be corrupted and lack integrity, it is still the general consensus that without integrity there no successful leadership.
Does Integrity Affect Leadership?
The success and prosperity of a country depends on effective leadership.
Peter Drucker says: “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” Victorious leadership means leadership with integrity; probably not as perfect Machiavellian Prince.
Looking on leadership in the eyes of the Machiavellian Prince one would conclude that leadership and integrity are synonymous. However, the mythical view of Niccolo Machiavelli cannot be attained, its an illusion of what a perfect world should be. Dictionary.com uses only one word to describe integrity, “honesty.” The most obvious leadership is the leadership of countries; yet, when looking down the annals of time, it is obvious that integrity is not a criterion for some leadership. If that were true there would never be a leader by the name of Hitler, Fidel Castro, Gennady Zyuganov, or Amelia Marcus. Not wanting to contradict Machiavelli, not every leader practices integrity.
There are many shades of integrity; taking a census of leaders one would find that every leader exhibits shades of honesty or dishonesty. Society is looking for leadership that is basically honest. Everyone is expected to tell or get away with a little white lie; however, it is blatant deceit that society despises. Jim Clemmer says in his article, in “Business Community.” “Honesty and integrity are motherhood leadership phrases” ( Online library). Clemmer goes on to say that honesty and integrity breed trust; they are the fundamental of leadership. He also says that trust fosters confident in people and make them believe in themselves and sour to higher heights. Though honesty is not as embellished as Machiavelli’s prince, it is necessary to cultivate good rapport between leaders and subjects.
No relationship is totally compatible; nevertheless for the relationship to flourish there must be respect and trust. Anything less than this is a volcanic waiting to blow. There is an old adage that says; “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” In situations that lack trust and respect the leader is usually arrogant and gets alone with no one. In Utah Business Candice M. Little lists the ten skills a leader should have.
A leader has courage to take measured risks.
A leader uses perspective to adapt.
A leader surrounds himself or herself with great people.
A leader never stops learning
A leader is passionate and determined to succeed
A leader is humble and transparent.
A leader create s a healthy company culture
A leader empowers others. A leader is strategic and leads with a purpose.
A leader has integrity.
Miss Little starts this list from ten to one, meaning that integrity is the most important skill in leadership.
In the business world as well as in government, there is the exception. A person in business who refuses to exercise integrity will find a group of robotic people working for him or her and care only for the paycheck they will get at the end of the day. Ed Konczal says in his article, “The Continuing Leadership Problem;” ” Building integrity in leaders and organizations takes time and cannot be feigned. You must feel it in your gut, in your core beliefs that being honest and trustworthy is the right business practice. If you feel that integrity is only a route to financial success, you are doomed to failure.” Again the vote is in and integrity wins.
Almost always employees only see the board of directors or even the chief executive officer more than once or twice, or never per year, and the onus is left on the direct boss to execute the desire of his or her boss. This cannot be accomplished if the head has lost its integrity. Therefore, the burden of being honest is also the requirement of the employees. An article on Business TM.com states that getting employees to be honest is most effective by example. As employers demonstrate integrity and honesty their employees will catch on and they themselves will begin to practice honesty. When employers show compassion, rather than constant criticism, employees will feel better about themselves and in return demonstrate their willingness to please their employers.
Some jobs require leadership skills more than others. Jobs in politics, military, administration, and coaching are a few of the jobs that require extreme leadership skills. The leaders of these jobs are solely responsible for the success and failure of their team. I can still hear President Obama in one of his many interviews saying that he realized that he has leadership skills when he ran the law library at Harvard. The people most held up to scrutiny are politicians and often times the public a lot to talk about them. One main character flaws of politicians is corruption, lack of integrity.
Even though America has suffered its fair share of corruption in government, there are countries that have done worse especially when it comes to the exploitation of their poor citizens. Dr. Kevin • Dr. Marcin Walecki • Jeffrey Carlson say in their book that: “Countries with high levels of poverty are particularly vulnerable to systemic political corruption, which is a relatively common problem for many transitional democracies. Patronage politics target the poor, the unemployed, the dispossessed and the socially dependent” (3). These poor people suffering is much more pronounce because the redemption from corrupt government depends on what the rich wants.
Teachers are like politicians, students are entrusted to them and parents depend on them to become their eyes and ears when they are away from home. Unfortunately, these caregivers have often abuse their trust. Many times the news is flooded with the report of teachers who have sexually assaulted their students. As we all do these teachers especially the women hide behind the fact they were also abused. It is not their pass that has caught up with them, it is their lack of integrity. A twenty-three year old teacher declares that she have sex with a fourteen year old boy because she was abused, but the judge was even worse than she , he gave her house arrest because she might be abused in jail since she is so pretty.
“Those who talk about the peoples of our day being given up to robbery and similar vices will find that they are all due to the fact that those who ruled them behaved in like manner” Niccolo Machiavelli, The Discourses, III (29). There is no excuse for dishonesty and it is plainly seen that success and prosperity are planted in the field of integrity. Everyone should practice honesty; whether or not we admit it we are leaders in some way and it behooves us to keep our integrity intact.
References
Kevin • Dr. Marcin Walecki • Jeffrey Carlson
Konczal, Ed. “The Continuing Leadership Problem,” Retrieved from Online Library.
Business TM.com
Caras-Zamora, Kevin, Welecki, Marcin, Jeffery Carlson. (2004) “Political Money and
Corruption”; in: Transparency International,” Global Corruption. London, Pluto Press.
Clemmer, Jim. Business Community. “Honesty and Integrity Build Foundation of Trust”
(2011, Oct.30}. Retrieved from online library Business MT.com
