BE INTEGRITY FOCUSED - THE 5 GUARDRAILS OF ETHICAL INFLUENCE

Welcome to the world and theme of Influential Leadership!

Each month we take a deep dive into the theme of effective and influential leadership. We are currently delving into the exciting topic of, “How to become a highly effective and influential leader by mastering the 10 Competitive Competencies of Leadership." Scroll to the bottom for links to previous editions.

In last month's issue , we discussed Part 1 of Leadership Competency No. 6, Be Integrity Focused, covering the meaning of integrity and how your reputation can depend on it. We also defined integrity as doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.

This month we take a deeper look at being Integrity Focused.

Don't miss the end of this article to learn what great business leaders are saying about being Integrity Focused (from interviews I conducted for my book, The Power of Strategic Influence).

INTEGRITY AND REPUTATION

Let's get started with a question. In regards to integrity, what elements comprise your reputation?

In a phrase, everything you say and do!

As the great Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

INTEGRITY IS A CHOICE FOLLOWED BY ACTIONS!

One can then, therefore, surmise that gaining an integrity-based reputation first starts as a thought, thereafter followed by a decision. Choosing to have integrity, and making the decision to live a life of strong and honest character is the first step in creating an influential and powerful reputation.

Ok, so it's great to make a decision to have integrity and to desire an honored reputation, but what's the next step? How do we go about establishing and expanding our personal brand and reputation of integrity? The short answer is by "doing what you said you would do", next by focusing on creating value through your willingness to help others, followed by consistently offering quality in everything you do, and finally by making integrity a daily practice in your dealings with everyone from the taxi cab driver, to your clients, and certainly to anyone you hold near and dear such as family, friends, and trusted partners.

LEVERAGE YOUR INFLUENCE WITH INTEGRITY

As I've taught for more than 35 years, honesty, integrity, and a consistent and honored reputation will bear the fruits of powerful influence. In other words, your integrity and your reputation will precede you, and allow you to have a positive and impactful amount of influence on others. The greater your integrity, the stronger your reputation, and the more impact you and your influence will have on others to trust you and follow you. But be warned, you can't pretend to have a reputation and influence, and then hope people will trust you if they learn you have no integrity. You must first lead with integrity, then reputation and influence will follow.

BE A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHERS

When you’re a leader with influence, all eyes are on you—from both above and below, and inside and outside the organization. Your subordinates will be watching to see if you “walk the walk” and if your talk about ethics and honor is for real. Having personal integrity means turning away from the easy score or the desire to shortchange the organization. If you leave work for long lunches at the club, you take off early to go play golf, or you use company funds to fix your house, your subordinates and teammates will see this, and the effect will be corrosive. They will think, “Hey, it’s every person man for him or herself around here! I’d better grab what I can get while the gravy train is running.” Your superiors—the board of directors, perhaps—will want to see that you are a good and effective steward of the organization and that you’re honestly and fairly working to get a robust return for the company’s investors. Outside analysts and investors will want to know the direction of the company and if, under your direction, investor funds are being used appropriately and for the good of the company. Don’t let them down. Be the role model they expect and deserve. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility

THE FIVE GUARDRAILS OF ETHICAL INFLUENCE

From personal integrity spring steadiness and dependability. If you live according to a moral code and a set of unchanging values, then those around you will be able to trust your judgment and have faith that you’re acting in their best interest. The opposite of ethical leadership is the cult of personality, where the leader makes decisions based solely on some hidden personal agenda, and his or her followers are expected to follow along even in the absence of a rational plan. This is the worst misuse of influence and always comes to a bad end for everyone involved

As our discussion has shown, integrity, reputation, and influence go hand in hand. To protect your reputation, you must use your influence wisely and ethically. Here are the Five Guardrails of Ethical Influence to help you protect your reputation, your integrity, and your hard-earned influence.

Guardrail 1. Ability to listen. Listen to others who are charged with reporting to you the facts. Everyone, even a center of influence, needs an accountability partner who has the authority to say, “Stop and listen,” without fear of your retribution. Proactively seek feedback, not just from people you want to impress, but from all levels.

Guardrail 2. Accept Responsibility. When you say you’re going to do something, then deliver it successfully and on time.

Guardrail 3. Maintain your personal integrity. If you live according to a moral code and a set of unchanging values, then those around you will be able to trust your judgment and have faith that you’re acting in their best interest.

Guardrail 4. Embrace the big picture. Use your influence, not to line your own pockets but to achieve the common goal.

Guardrail 5. Be generous. Leadership generosity means more than approving a fat paycheck. It means stepping back and allowing others to shine

WHAT FIVE BUSINESS LEADERS SAY ABOUT INTEGRITY

During the development of my book, The Power of Strategic Influence, I interviewed 12 globally known CEOs to learn about their individual roads to success and to inquire about their thoughts regarding influence, leadership, defining moments, and views on integrity in business. Each interview was matched with one of the 12 chapters.

The following represents excerpts from five of these leaders on the topic of Integrity.

Brian Esposito - Founder Esposito Intellectual Enterprises, LLC

As we get older and become more experienced in life, when you meet somebody who has questionable maneuvers, you’ve got to run away. There’s no need to have their life impact the good that you’re trying to surround yourself with. You only need one good person in your corner to really do amazing things, and if you have more than one, then you are extremely lucky. That’s why I say it’s all about integrity and relationships, and work on getting one good person at a time, and then you have a really powerful army behind you.

If I had to start over today, I would continue to do what I’ve learned, to monetize myself, create value, use my network, and use my relationships. It’s crazy what you can accomplish if you know A and B, and you want to make Z. It’s great, but the only way you get to do that is if people subscribe to you and trust you. That’s why it goes back to your character and your integrity.

John Hewitt - CEO at Loyalty Brands and Former Co-Founder Jackson Hewitt

You know, talk is so cheap. I think the key is this: honesty is rare, and integrity is rare, but do you know the difference between honesty and integrity? Honesty is talking about the past, and integrity is about the future. If I say to you that I’m going to do something, then I’ll become fanatically committed to that. I have found that most people when they say, “I am going to do this or that,” few of them actually meet their goals. Most of them don’t even meet half their goals. They have no integrity. If you do what you say you’re going to do, you will always be successful. If someone asked me what the key to success is, I’d say, “Do what you say you’re going to do.”

Tom Ziglar - CEO, Ziglar Inc.

As I grew into adulthood, here’s what my father told me: “Son, whatever you want to do, just do it two ways: With 100 percent integrity, and with 100 percent effort.” I’ve spent my life following that advice, developing the unique gifts and voice God has given me to enable Ziglar, Inc., to carry on the messages of motivation, inspiration and belief that my father first began sharing more than sixty years ago.

What seems to happen in leadership is we get an extreme. We get somebody who’s so confident they go into arrogance. And then we lose trust. One of my sayings is, “Trust is the byproduct of integrity.” So when we look at that, then the other side is you’ve got other leaders who are so helpful. Influencers and leaders must really master that combination of being humble enough to say, “I don’t really know it all, tell me more, what can I learn,” and always seeking to discover what’s true; but the confidence to let people know, “Hey, this is what I believe, here is where we’re going, this is how it’s going to happen.” Influencers have the ability to transfer their own confidence to other people, and that confidence has to be rooted in a foundation of integrity.

Anu Shukla - Co-Founder & Executive Chairman at Botco.ai

To be a strategic influencer, you have to be relevant, and you have to be of a certain integrity and a certain caliber that is relevant to your brand. For example, you can’t have an influencer hold up everybody’s product, one after the other. Today it’s the best lipstick, and tomorrow, something else. That’s less credible to me because you’re just promoting whatever products someone is paying you for. Secondly, if a so-called influencer who’s not an expert in makeup is telling me that this lipstick is good, why should I care? It’s like the infomercial with a singer who is promoting the best slow cooker. Why do I care? You’re a singer! Why are you an expert in slow cooking? I think it’s more interesting when you see somebody who is fifty-five years old, and they look younger. For example, Cindy Crawford is fifty-five and she looks like she’s twenty-five. I’m going to believe her. People want to know your motivation for why you’re involved, and why you’re influencing and promoting a certain product. I think people can see authentic engagement versus something that’s made up for the purposes of a commercial.

Glo Gordon - CEO at MATRIXX Software

There’s the short game and the long game. To be strategic, I’m usually thinking of the long game, and anybody I’d surround myself with or keep in my circle of influence would need to share my values. You want to work with people you never have to think twice about in terms of integrity or honesty.

SUMMARY TAKEAWAY

To establish a reputation of integrity, you need to have a history of making good on positive intentions. This means that you have to make good on your promises over and over again. Demonstrating consistent performance will show people that they can depend on you to do the right thing, and they can turn to you in a time of need. If you’re like the family doctor who will answer the phone at any time of day or night and always provide good service, people will begin to trust your judgment, and your influence will strengthen. Your reputation is forward-looking in the sense that people will consider your reputation in advance of deciding how they feel about you and if they want to do business with you, and it all boils down to integrity.

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