Integrity vs. Leadership

You’ve heard this phrase before: “Integrity is who you are when no one is looking.”

True enough, but not enough.

While integrity is a non-negotiable quality for leaders, it is not enough by itself.  For while leadership certainly involves who you are when no one is looking, it also involves who you are when everyone is looking.  If for no other reason than this, integrity is table stakes. 

This explains also why not everyone who has integrity is a leader.  Many people conduct themselves in a manner that is above reproach, but do so privately, not intending to have influence on others as a consequence of their integrity, or perhaps seeking to influence only those closest to them.  It is a kind of leadership by example, but it is passive, not expansive.

Leadership, then, not only embraces integrity, but also compels others to live according to shared ideals.  It is intentional.  It seeks an audience, even a spotlight.  Here the example of the individual leader can be broadcast, modeled, developed, even prized.

It is a weighty risk.  At these heights, the distance to earth is great, but the leader who can align his own integrity with the goodness of his movement stands to gain an allegiance that transcends reason.  It is also risky because such a path winds dangerously close to cult of personality and its siren call.

Integrity, then, will never be a means to an end for leaders, but a pre-requisite and powerful ally for those who would expand their influence and further a worthy cause. 

~ by stoshdwalsh on January 13, 2008.