A friend of mine, a metal worker, gave me a new perspective on integrity when he described how important it was in the materials he worked with. ‘The metal's integrity will determine what load it can bear.' A paperclip and a lag bolt are great examples of this definition of integrity. Both have value, but one is more valuable for larger loads and great stress, while the other can only hold thin sheets of paper together. Leadership quality can often be measured similarly. This is not a popular leadership topic. We all prefer to focus on much flashier ideas, but integrity is the bedrock of a person's capacity. President Eisenhower said, ‘The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.’ The greater the stress, the greater the responsibility, and the more pressure a leader puts on their integrity. How much a leader can be relied on depends on the strength of their integrity.
Unfortunately, we have all seen influential leaders fail because of their lack of integrity. Their talent, skill, and charisma allowed them to ascend to a place where multitudes of people relied on them, but their integrity could not bear that responsibility. No matter how often it happens, it always stuns us when these failures become public knowledge. Considering the frequency of these failures, it is surprising that we are so surprised when it happens. Our reaction always reveals our subconscious expectation that to lead is to be relied upon. No one intentionally relies on the unreliable. We want leaders to be able to bear a heavy load. Whether or not they do is not about the quality of their skill but the strength of their integrity. Too often, an individual's talent allows them to obtain a position of influence that their character is not strong enough to hold on to.
My point is not to disparage leaders who have failed because of a lack of character. My point is to help you reflect on your integrity and the importance of continuing to strengthen it so that you can be a leader that others can rely on to bear the load. Integrity matters for mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, coaches, teachers, C-suite executives, and store managers.
There are ways you can measure and develop your integrity. It is a muscle that can be strengthened. However, much like the distaste for working out, we avoid doing the necessary challenging things that can strengthen our integrity. Here are some ways to strengthen integrity to bear a large load...
Do what you say you're going to do. When asked to do something by someone that you are responsible for influencing, take a moment to decide if you can follow through. Too often, our desire to help outweighs our capacity to help. I've learned to tell people to keep pestering me until I remember. They know my heart is to help them, but they also gain a realistic understanding of my limitations to help them.
Do what you planned to do. We all make plans big and small and fail to follow through on those plans. Did you know that this is habit forming? When you fail to follow through on a plan, you are developing the habit of not executing. The gap between what you planned to do and what you do is where a lack of integrity can slip in. When you make a plan, you will either develop the habit of executing or the habit of failing to execute. Once I perceived planning through the lens of habit formation, I became more careful about what I planned to do and more committed to executing my plans.
Ask for forgiveness. Nothing can fortify integrity like asking someone to forgive you. Leaders can be too worried about demonstrating their expertise and not worried enough about demonstrating that they can be trusted. Integrity is not correlated to perfection. It is correlated to making things right when you are not perfect. The willingness to own a mistake, right a wrong, and amend an offense demonstrates that you can be trusted through thick and thin. I've found that the humility required to ask for forgiveness yields exponential value on my integrity in the eyes of the people I'm responsible for influencing.
Have the difficult conversation. Andy Stanley states, 'To be kind is to be clear, and to be clear is to be kind.' Trustworthy integrity is displayed when you graciously engage in that difficult conversation. Delaying difficult conversations just makes things worse. Avoiding a difficult conversation is a selfish act. It lacks integrity. You are placing your comfort above what you believe is in the best interest of another. As you read this, that difficult conversation you must have is at the front of your mind. I know it is. Have it. Graciously.
Be excited for the success of those around you. Celebrating the success of others is not a natural action. Left to our unhindered preferences, we would prefer to be celebrated than celebrate others. However, committing yourself to celebrating others not only inspires others but strengthens your integrity. It assists in practicing doing what is best for others, which is an important part of integrity. A by-product of the integrity of celebrating others is that when people see that you are 'all in' for them, they trust you and go 'all in' for you.
I once used the paperclip/bolt analogy with one of my teams. I gave each of the team members a paper clip and a bolt. I asked them all to bend the paperclip, and they all did. I asked them to bend the bolt, and none of them could. I closed the meeting by asking them, 'When the pressure is applied to you, are you a paperclip or a bolt?'
BE A BOLT!!
*Bonus: here are some great reads on this topic. Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender, Leadership Pain by Sam Chand, and Character still Counts by James Merrit
Keep on, keepin' on, friends!
Bite Down and Don’t Let Go is a collection of writings on relentlessly leading yourself and others well. Read about it more here. You can listen to the Bite Down and Don't Let Go podcast here!
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart, and they have three children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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