Lead with Integrity

Be a leader who can look in the mirror and be happy with what you see. Treat people fairly and work to gain trust through authenticity. Difficult decisions will need to be made and difficult messages delivered but if they are conveyed with honesty and fairness, it will result in respect from your team not disillusionment. A disillusioned person’s perspective goes something like this, “I can’t believe…made that decision. It was clearly driven by… How can he look at himself in the mirror?” In any team, there are personalities that we would prefer to work with and employees with whom we resonate better. Look objectively at the decisions you make and the way that you deliver the message. Would it pass the “front page of the newspaper test”? Do some work to become aware of your unconscious biases and ask for input from those in your team for areas you could improve and then take action.

A leader with integrity can convey the vision and assist the team to complete the work required to make that vision a reality. If you can motivate your team in a meaningful way, be true to yourself, your team and your values you will come across as an authentic leader who can be relied upon.

According to research by Futurist Jacob Morgan released in 2019, 1200 CEOs around the globe identified the most important skills as being able to motivate, engage, and inspire employees; to listen to and communicate with their workforce; to look at different scenarios and possibilities; and to display emotional intelligence, but 63% of LinkedIn responders described the CEOs as doing “somewhat well” or “not well at all” on key leadership qualities, with Australian leaders coming out the worst out of the 12 countries surveyed.

The fact that the executives believed they were doing well in the key areas, yet the employees strongly disagreed, led Mr. Morgan to conclude that the executives were too removed from the business. This highlights the importance of staying in contact with the day to day and the issues that employees are facing.

To lead with integrity is to utterly understand the concerns of your workforce and not just pay lip service, a good team will see through that quickly and lose respect. Show that you care, have given due consideration to the issues, and believe that you can work with the team to improve the situation and you will earn a reputation as an authentic leader that people are driven to follow.