Integrity: The Cornerstone of Great Leadership – A Reminder

For this leg of the entrepreneurial leadership series, I want to turn the spotlight on integrity as one of those “things” that is on every business leader’s mind but, if you take some of the glaring examples in the news, rarely seems to be in anyone’s hearts or actions.

Personally, I believe that there are more instances of business leaders displaying integrity than there are of those who don’t, and that it is really a matter of a few proverbial bad apples spoiling the bunch. Personal convictions aside, however, there is no shortage of instances where a lack of integrity has cost millions of dollars, failure of businesses, job losses, and irreparable reputational damage.

Any why is that? Why are business leaders and entrepreneurs, people tasked with championing great ideas to the benefit of many, seemingly falling short when it comes to doing the right thing? Where or why do things go awry?

In addressing the “why”, like so many of life’s most invaluable lessons, from time to time, we all need a reminder; a reminder of why doing the right thing is not only important but fundamental.

With that reminder must also come the reiteration of the importance of integrity and ethics; that all team members must be well aware and watchful, and that there are no shortcuts to sustainable success.

So let’s begin, as they say, at the beginning.

Integrity: Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do

Any discussion of business leadership and integrity (whether it be personal, professional, or moral integrity) is best served by setting out and adhering to some very basic principles of decency and respect for the individual – respect for yourself and for what you seek to achieve and respect for the people you serve whether directly or indirectly.

That’s a tall order, no? Let’s shorten it a bit.

Integrity is intangible. But we can say that integrity has a very real feel to it in the sense that we can “see” it at work and “hear” about it when it is not. So if we are going to do our parts to empower entrepreneurs of tomorrow, then I believe we have to revisit the emphasis placed on coaching others (and ourselves) to do the right thing for the right purpose and in the right way.

We have to see integrity not as some ethereal substance but as something that we believe in and are willing to share with as many as possible. In many ways, I recognise that this has an evangelical feel, however, there is no better time than the present to remind ourselves of the fact that, while making profits is important, uncompromising personal and professional integrity is paramount.

It’s not impossible to imagine how and why, in their quests to achieve maximum profits and greater efficiency, some business leaders have been tempted to take the shortest route to success. With hundreds of thousands of business leaders and businesses being established daily, competition and challenges to survive in the market are at an all-time high. This creates the less than ideal, but all too real scenario where a business leader or entrepreneur is faced with the option of compromising ethics and sometimes, integrity in order to get ahead or even just to survive.

I’ll touch on this a little more in my next blog, but for now I have to point out that this practice is unacceptable for building a long-term reputation and ensuring the sustainability of your business. Cutting corners is never the way to go. Especially when talking about integrity and ethics within the organisation or the team.

The businesses that do not maintain integrity and ethics in their environment and operations, sooner or later, lose their reputations, their trust and place in the market, which are all the markers leading toward further loss and eventual shutdown.

Remember, great ideas and entrepreneurs come and go, but integrity and character are what stand the test of time. The cost of forgetting this is too high.

Enron, Lehman Brothers, Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford and countless others are just a few who have paid that price.

Cautionary tales aside, simply put, integrity in leadership means doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Therefore, a great leader understands and channels honesty and integrity as the foundations of his or her leadership style, standing up tall for what they believe in.

As simple as that is, it is not often easy to execute. In many instances, it calls for a change not only in the way of doing things but seeing them as well. As we all know, change can be difficult.

However, one sure way to succeed in nurturing a climate of integrity is for leaders to live and practice it daily. For example, at Republic Bank, one of our core values is Integrity (alongside Customer Focus, Professionalism, Respect for the Individual, and Results Orientation).

To that end, in every aspect of operations, from Boardroom to Banking Hall, integrity holds centre court, particularly in an era where financial institutions must stand resolute in the face of threats like money laundering, terrorism, and ongoing financial malfeasance and scandal.

The bottom line is that leaders with integrity may not be the most famous or flashiest of their ilk, and they don’t care. Integrity means doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. If we need to remind ourselves and each other of this daily for it to take its firmest hold, then so be it. Because that is the first real step to sustainable success as an entrepreneur, an employee, a human being, and a respected leader.