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Leadership Tip of the Month

April 2006

Copyright 2006 ã weLEAD, Inc.

Do You Suffer From IDD?

It is a negative quality that affects far too many so-called leaders. It destroys respect and trust more quickly and deeply than any other personal weakness. It sickens and alienates followers in business, politics, religious organizations and personal relationships. In a 1983 study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) it was identified as one of five major traits that derailed managers who advanced to top level positions, but failed to perform successfully. What is this quality? It is a lack of integrity, or what I humorously call IDD…integrity deficit disorder!

Integrity is defined as the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards. It means a person's behavior is consistent with their alleged values. The person demonstrates character that is trustworthy, honest and ethical. Integrity is the opposite of being deceitful and hypocritical. It is almost impossible to retain cooperation, or the genuine loyalty of others when one is perceived as untrustworthy. An individual loses credibility when it is discovered they lie, break promises or grossly exaggerate facts.

Just how important is integrity to being a leader? The National Leadership Index 2005: A National Study of Confidence in Leadership, prepared for the U.S News & World Report & Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard University, provided the answer. Americans were asked what they want most from their leaders. 95% replied that what they wanted most was honesty and integrity. It was rated the highest of importance in a list of eleven different leadership traits. It was also considered more important than skills, knowledge and other leadership abilities. The study respondents were also asked what qualities were important to have confidence in a leader. 44% said it was "honesty, integrity and ethics in their professional life." Another 26% said it was "honesty, integrity and ethics in their personal life."

Integrity is about matching your thoughts, feelings, and words with your actions. Consider the example of Mohandas Gandhi. In 1931, Gandhi traveled to Britain to attend the Round Table Conference and influence the British public over the plight of India under British rule. Gandhi arrived at the meeting, which was also attended by members of Parliament. Here was a man with no real perceived power. He appeared frail, dressed in simple robes with no political office, no military and no wealth. He spoke for nearly 2 hours without notes and he mesmerized many Parliament members and the press. Since it was difficult for the press to reach Gandhi due to the crowds and security, the press approached his secretary, Mahadev Desai to ask some questions. One of the questions they asked Gandhi's secretary was how he was able to speak so powerfully for 2 hours without any notes! He is reputed to have said, "You don't understand. You don't understand Gandhi. You see, what he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. And what he says is what he does. What Gandhi thinks, what he feels, what he says, and what he does are all the same. He does not need notes. You and I think things, that sometimes may be different than what we feel. What we say depends on who's listening. What we do depends on who's watching. It is not so with him. He needs no notes."

In another example, Gandhi was once approached by a mother who wanted him to have a few words with her son. The boy was eating too much sugar and it was harming his teeth and diet. When the mother asked Gandhi to talk to her son he replied, "I cannot tell him that. But you may bring him back in a month.” Obviously the woman was discouraged because of all the travel involved to see Gandhi and what she felt was a simple request to support her parenting skills. However, one month later she returned with her son. Gandhi tenderly held the boy's hands and told him to not eat sugar because it was harmful to his health. The mother was pleased but perplexed. She asked him why he had not simply said this to the boy a month earlier during her first visit. Gandhi replied, "Well, a month ago, I was still eating sugar." The lesson is that Gandhi was a powerful example of integrity. He was unwilling to correct someone for a weakness, while he still had the same weakness. By overcoming the weakness himself, he would not be a hypocrite by correcting another.

What this means is simple and clear. If you want to inspire and motivate others to support a vision or ideology, you must set an example of integrity by your own behavior. Your behavior must be consistent with the values you repeat to your followers. As Stephen Covey writes in his bestselling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, "Honesty is telling the truth - in other words, conforming our words to reality. Integrity is conforming reality into our words - in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. This requires an integrated character, a oneness, primarily with self but also with life."

I encourage you to examine your leadership example. Do you suffer from IDD?

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that George Berkeley once wrote, "He who says there is no such thing as an honest man, is himself a knave.”

On the weLEAD Website you will find over 70 other free helpful leadership tips. They are all available in a text version or as an MP3 audio!