Show Me The Money! With Integrity.

A temporary break from TEDLeads to take a brief forage into the world of Jerry McGuire and his relationship with leadership.

Why? Because in the last 24 hours I've had four client conversations about burnout and that's out of five. In one day. Something's not right out there methinks.

For those who haven't met Jerry, I strongly suggest this film as a wake-up call for leaders.

It starts with Jerry's 'long dark night of the soul' in which he asks the question 'What am I doing' and 'Why do I hate my life'. The result? A manifesto in which Jerry-the-arch-salesman has a 'come to Jesus' moment. He realises he WANTS to give his clients more personal attention. And this means serving fewer clients. In sales. Hhhhmmm...

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that in the world of sales (which = revenue) this isn't going to go down well in the dollar-hungry world of sports representation. The result? He's fired. And lied to. And let down. And abandoned. And he loses. A lot.

Yes. Standing up for something you believe in IS going to bring out the sharks and the haters. You've made yourself vulnerable. They smell that - and the blood in the water - that can travel with it.

Jerry didn't subscribe to Sun Tzu's Art of War...

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Jerry stumbles into an unplanned battle for the hearts and minds of those in a shark-infested agency that he 'helped build' - some might say fearlessly, definitely naively. He is unprepared for the fall-out because he BELIEVES in what he's saying. and herein lies the genius of this film.

You can ONLY lead when you believe. AND it may still not have people follow you.

Is Jerry victorious? Not initially. But this is not the point of this article. The nature of his leadership journey is.

What is Jerry missing at first? And what lessons does he learn?

He makes a stand for integrity and for his own soul. Ironically, at the same time, he's struggling with his inner integrity. He's 'failing' in his personal life. You can't be out of integrity in one area of your life and truly succeed in another. There's a disconnect.

Jerry's journey is to get his integrity back in his personal life.

He craves connection but is scared of commitment in initimate relationships "Can't be alone". Lots of girlfriends, no commitment. BUT his work 'manifesto' urges better connection and more commitment to clients. The irony embedded in beautiful script-writing!

Jerry's journey from his long-night-of-the-soul-in-a-motel-room through the wasteland of failure-to-commit to integrity is painful to watch. He's systematically stripped of all the elements of his comfort zone - his work identity (visibly successful exec to solo-preneur with one client). He loses his intimate relationship (from engaged to ditched). Why? Because he rejects professional success in favour of professional fulfillment.

Now he has to hustle. Hard. To make rent. He's forced to live with his one client AND MAKE IT WORK. Yes, there's personal growth is painful.

He's inspired a few followers - who want to be inspired - him but he still can't properly connect and commit personally. So he loses again - this time a relationship with someone who 'sees' him - not as the sharky-salesman but the man inside he's trying to bring out.

It's only when he stops lying to himself (and everyone else) when he stops pretending to 'have it all together' that everything comes together.

Notice Jerry keeps getting the same lesson until he learns it. Fake connection and lack of commitment don't lead to success. And so it is with life.

What's in this for every leader out there?

Get your integrity-ducks-in-a-row.

Be vulnerable.

Don't lie to yourself.

If you want to lead, if you want relationships that matter, and to be fulfilled personally and professionally you must have integrity in all the areas of your life.

Look inside. Look at the people around you. Bring the two together. And the world will be yours...And you will inspire - yourself and others.

So what?

• How's your personal integrity right now - in your relationships, and at work?
• How does your integrity line up inside and in the world - are you being two different people?
• What will you do about it?

Leadership is about inspiring yourself so you can inspire other people. Starts with honesty!