Integrity & Character in Leadership

Welcome to Lesson 4 of 4 in Leadership Foundations. It takes about 15 minutes.

Talent can get you noticed. Character decides whether people keep trusting you. This lesson is about integrity when nobody is watching and the reputation you are building now. Then a short quiz on the whole course, and your Leadership Self-Audit. Finish all four lessons to unlock your certificate and the Leads Self badge.

Scripture comes from the King James Version. This is a course for learning and practice, and it cannot promise particular results.

Since last time

Last time you chose a small action: tracking one day hour by hour, putting three priorities in your calendar first, or keeping a block of real rest.

Look back at the week. What did you try, and what did you notice? If you did not manage it, say so honestly and carry it into this week.

In this lesson you will

• Explain why character outlasts talent, and spot small compromises before they grow.
• Recall the main habit from each lesson of the course: leading yourself, deciding, time and energy, integrity.
• Complete your Leadership Self-Audit and choose one area to grow.

Before you start

How true is each of these for you today, from 1 (not true) to 5 (very true)?

• I am the same person in private and in public.
• I keep honest records of time, money and promises.
• I know which area of self-leadership I most need to grow.

1. Character outlasts talent

Integrity means being whole: the same person in the office and at home, in the report and in the conversation.

Proverbs 10:9 (KJV) 9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely. The upright person has nothing to hide and no story to keep straight. Talent opens doors; character keeps them open. Many gifted people lose a job, a business or a friendship over a small dishonesty that grew.

Most failures of integrity begin small:

• A rounded-up figure in a report.
• A promise made just to end a call.
• Company time used for private business.
• Credit taken for someone else's idea.

Each is easy to excuse. Together they make a person who is no longer whole.

Think about it: Which small compromise is most tempting in your work at the moment?

Try this week: This week, notice one moment when shading the truth would be easier, and say exactly what is true instead.

2. When nobody is watching

The real test of integrity is private: what we do with unwatched time or money, and how we speak about people behind their backs. Willpower alone is weak. Safeguards make integrity easier:

• Avoid the setting, not only the act.
• Bring things into the light. Tell someone you trust about a temptation.
• Make it checkable: receipts kept, a second person who checks the book, shared passwords for shared money.
• Own your mistakes quickly. "That was my error; here is how I will fix it."

Imagine a young woman who keeps the accounts for a church project. She keeps every receipt and asks a second person to check the book each month. Nobody has accused her of anything. She is making sure nobody can.

Think about it: Where in your life is integrity tested when nobody else would know?

Try this week: Put one practical safeguard in place this week, and tell one trusted person that you have done it.

3. The name you are building

Every day you are building a reputation, whether you plan to or not.

Proverbs 22:1 (KJV) 1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. A good name is built slowly, from many small kept promises, and it can be lost in a day.

Put the four lessons together and they describe the name worth building:

• You lead yourself first: your temper, habits and word.
• You decide well under pressure: you pause, check the facts and keep your lines.
• You use time and energy on purpose, and rest.
• You are the same person when nobody is watching.

Below, you will rate yourself on all four in your Leadership Self-Audit. Keep it: you can take it again at the end of a mentorship programme and see how far you have come. When you are ready to lead others, KMA's Leadership Track takes you there.

Think about it: In five years, what would you like people to say about how you lead?

Try this week: Ask one person who knows you well which of the four areas they see as your strongest. Compare it with your own audit.

Activities

Reflection

• Which of the four lessons will change how you lead most this month, and why?

Key takeaways

• Talent opens doors; character keeps them open.
• Watch the small compromises, and build safeguards.
• A good name is built slowly, from many kept promises.
• Lead yourself, decide well, use time on purpose, be the same in private.

Your next step

You have finished Lesson 4, the last lesson of Leadership Foundations. You are on the path of growth: you have your Leadership Self-Audit and one area to grow.

These lessons help you lead yourself. To keep growing, KMA offers two next steps:

Mentorship. Grow with a KMA mentor who helps you lead in real situations and follows up with you on what you tried. See KMA's mentorship packages. See the mentorship packages

Or: the Leadership Track (monthly Learning membership). Prefer to learn on your own first? The Leadership Track turns leading yourself into leading others: pitching without a budget, solving real problems and building your network. See the Leadership Track