Integrity is an inside job, a force that resides within us that allows us to be the best version of who we are.
But how can one define that force, here are nine very distinctive ways.
1. Know yourself. – We need to examine and engage in self awareness. As leaders with integrity, we need to know who we are and what drives us, what triggers us and what excites us.
2. Align with your beliefs In life and leadership, we will face moments when we need to make difficult moral choices. Our choices will reveal the strength of our integrity. We will be known as leaders of integrity when we live by and hold to a set of beliefs and principles that consistently guide our actions day to day.
3. Engage your strengths and evaluate your weaknesses. We are honest with ourselves and others about what we can do and what we cannot do. We are our strengths and weaknesses, they are our moral compass to our source, our force.
5. Concise communication. We may not always have good news to deliver but when we communicate with authenticity, transparency and from the heart, we will engage the minds and wills of our followers.
6. Walk your talk. If we say it, we do it. We align our actions with our inspirational messages and motivating talks.
7. Coordinate your heart and words. We speak from the heart, with consistency. We align our thinking, feeling and talking to what is real and what is found within our hearts.
8. Keeppromises. Having good intentions is not enough. Keeping promises is a competency highly valued in our leaders. We follow through on promises even when it’s difficult. We must live in a way that demonstrates trustworthiness.
9. Focus on others. We must tune in to others’ thoughts and feelings. We must be of service and bring value to others to remain connected.
The key to great leadership is being a leader with integrity and integrity is an inside job, the sooner we know that, the faster we can embody it.
Lead From Within: Heart based Leaders clasp on to their core convictions and allow these forces to guide and lead them towards their interior knowledge, in order to carry forward the power to change the world as they know it.
National Bestselling Book:
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
AJ Borowsky
15. May, 2012
Great post Lolly. I think I should print this or bookmark it and read it on a regular basis. By reminding ourselves to walk the talk, keep promises, focus on others, etc we keep ourselves aligned. My favorite is the line “having good intentions is not enough.” I say a good intention without action is still nothing.
Al Watts
17. May, 2012
Well done, Lolly and very much in tune with my book on the subject last year: Navigating Integrity – Transforming Business As Usual Into Business At Its Best. Yes, integrity is an “inside job” – for leaders and organizations; its external manifestations include work places that are not only ethical, but effective and engaging. You touch on integrity’s four fundamentals n my book: Identity (including self awareness,) Authenticity (trueness – to purpose and values,) alignment and accountability (fundamentally, living up to our promise.) More information, including links to my book and hundreds of quotations about integrity are at http://www.integro-inc.com/Home.aspx
Sanaul Haque
04. Dec, 2016
Focus on young generation.