Honesty & Integrity
My past heroes have left us with some wonderful pithy quotes, showcasing either their wisdom, inspiration or wit.
Churchill was probably most famous for his wit; Mandela for his inspiration; and Lincoln for his wisdom.
There are many stories of Abraham Lincoln's honesty, including the famous instance from his lawyering days when he caught one of his own witnesses lying on the stand. His reaction was priceless - calling out the witness and stating that this is not how he wanted to win the case. Right there and then he justified the moniker "Honest Abe". And the time even earlier in his life when he was a store clerk; on finding that he short-changed a customer the grand sum of 6 cents - he took it upon himself to walk 3 miles to the customer's home that evening to remedy the situation. Clearly this was not just an honest man, but a man of great integrity. Literally walking the talk.
You demonstrate integrity when your behaviour backs up the truth and is consistent with your beliefs and values. These are qualities we must see in our leaders. A good leader shows honesty. A great leader shows honesty & integrity.
How do you think YOU measure up? Be honest! And if you're a little dismissive of my hint that you probably are not as honest as you think - check out the book "Lying" by Sam Harris.
President at Pink Elephant
8 年BTW .... Just to prove that Abraham Lincoln also had a keen wit, here's one of my favourite amusing quotes from him - "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." I hate it when that happens.