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Leadership and followership
Leadership and followership

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5.2 Lack of integrity

Integrity is always high on the list in surveys of leadership skills or when recruiting leaders. The Oxford English Dictionary (2017) defines it as:

Soundness of moral principle; the character of uncorrupted virtue, especially in relation to truth and fair dealing; uprightness, honesty, sincerity.

It might also be described as always doing the right thing and being honest.

Amster (2015) offers the following tips to help you strengthen your integrity in the workplace:

  • Fulfil your promises
  • Keep appointments
  • Before you make a commitment, reflect on whether you can deliver
  • Get comfortable with saying no.

A Mind Tools (n.d.) editorial on ‘Preserving integrity’ recommends analysing every choice that you make and asking yourself the following questions:

  • If my choice were printed on the front page of the newspaper for everyone to see, would I feel OK about it?
  • If I make this choice, will I feel OK with myself afterwards?

Tips like these can provide a helpful checklist if you’re unsure about how to proceed.