In previous blogs, I’ve talked about a number of leadership traits that anyone – at any level – can emulate. These have included courage, passion, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, finding your voice, and humility.

These attributes are meaningless, though, without integrity.
In simple terms, integrity means avoiding conflicts of interest, following local and federal laws, and living by the guidelines your company or organization has established.

But we all know, integrity goes far beyond just following the rules. It’s about doing the right things even when no one is watching. Taking pride in your work. Not cutting corners or taking shortcuts. Taking on problems, not ignoring them. The daily internal struggle to do what you know is right but also hard and difficult.

And always – absolutely always – integrity is about putting the organization’s interests ahead of our own.

Self-interest isn’t usually apparent, especially at first. But I’m convinced if leaders are driven first by self-interest, they will eventually be exposed. And it’s hard, if not impossible, to coach someone to overcome self-interest. It’s so ingrained that all the coaching and mentoring in the world just can’t change a basic sense of self over others.

In many organizations, these types of individuals end up “self-selecting” out. They just don’t fit the cultural norms or beliefs that value “what you can do for the organization” over “what the organization can do for you” – especially those organizations that hold institutional integrity to high levels.

I’ve found (interestingly and surprisingly) that self-interest is at the core the true downfall of many leaders – perhaps more than any other single trait. It translates into to poor decisions, poor execution, and a poor company reputation. And while there may be patience to help a leader develop, there’s little to no patience to overcome a gap in integrity.

What leaders do you know who exemplify integrity?