Everyday Canvas

Integrity in Leadership

Prompt: Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible…” Accordingly, which qualities, do you think, are necessary and how much of an important role should integrity play in good leadership?

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I agree with Eisenhower in integrity being the supreme quality for leadership since integrity shows itself in how well we choose to respond in any given situation. The essence of integrity is doing the right thing even when it is not accepted by others or when it is inconvenient for us. In short, integrity is doing the right thing for the right reason.

Integrity comes from our internal moral self that guides us towards making intelligent choices and ethical decisions, regardless of our emotional reactions and personality types. The essential parts of integrity are fairness, duty, self-control, honesty, compassion, empathy, and sympathy.

In addition, we must not be tempted by the promise of a reward or a need for acknowledgment, or in other words, fame. If we do the right thing despite the fear of a negative consequence, if we are consistent in honoring personal responsibility to those we lead with the strict sense of duty, then we show that we have integrity.

For a leader, in addition to fairness, duty, self-control, honesty, compassion, empathy, and sympathy, integrity is not being afraid of naming dishonesty or recognizing it when he sees it among his staff, people working for him, or if a president, his cabinet members, even if the truth is strange or terrifying. For a leader, integrity is finding the right and just solution to each problem after examining that problem in all its implications.

It is not easy to be a leader in anything, let alone being in charge of the highest offices. That is why we need to choose our leaders not because of their campaign promises but because of the integrity of their characters.