Org3: Leading with Integrity

Empower Us, Inc. is publishing the Org3 (Culture, Development, and Leadership) series of books and web based materials. Visit http://www.eulmc.com for more information. Enjoy this excerpt from one of our future publications.

Leading with Integrity

Leadership is the foundation of great [any] Organizations. Doing the right thing for the organization entails character, integrity, and self-discipline. The strategies implemented by Leadership need to be carefully planned to prevent negative consequences. The culture of the organization is the foundation that generates any strategic outcomes. Leaders have the potential to create a negative impact on the organization with the increasingly complex need to meet demanding deadlines. Yes, demands and deadlines are what makes great organizations, however it is not what but how it is done that makes a huge difference.

A productive Leader generates successful outcomes by demonstrating positive examples that are honest and forthright. Enabling organizational members to innovate, prepare for strategic changes, and address challenges to sustain high performance standards are a few qualities of effective Leaders, who hone integrity at their core. Building relationships and team cohesiveness are also important talents for Leaders to own.

The end mission of a Leader is to help individuals and organizations reach the essential goal. The Leader must decide how this will be accomplished. What style of Leadership are you demonstrating? There are several styles from which one can choose. As a researcher, I am partial to Transformational Leadership because this particular style mainly focuses on the growth of the follower, with guidance to meet or exceed organizational goals. Do you know the difference between managing and leading? In a nutshell, managers focus more on the task to be accomplished; the leader focuses on the person who is performing the task. Have you been trained to Lead or are you focused on the process or task at hand? Some are hired or promoted to a Leadership role and have no experience. They often fail at meeting the "essential goal", simply becuase their Leadership skills have not been developed.

The most important thing an effective Leader should know is that people will follow you. If they aren't, then one is definitely not Leading. Find out what can be done differently if they are not following. There are many books and courses that are accessible to support the growth opportunities that exist to improve your place as a Leader. Never stop learning. When one thinks they know everything, internal sirens go off that most often are ignored. Ego also gets in the way and the success that could be gained is limited or null because of this.

The key idea is for the Leader to be endorsed by subordinates and authorized by superiors. Repect your followers by listening and collaborating. If the Leader is meeting with any of the followers, then do so with undivided attention, otherwise the appearance that they do not matter will be instilled in their minds. At that point one will most likely lose them as a follower and they then become taskers.

If one is in a Leadership role, they should do so with integrity (noun: adherance to moral and ethical princiles; soundness of moral character; honesty). Followers want to give more than what is asked or required. Give them a reason to make a difference for the organization and themselves, with integrity

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T.E. (2008). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hacker, S., Roberts, T. (2003). Transformational Leadership: Creating Organizations of Meaning. Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press.

Magruder, M. (2013). A Phenomenalogical Study: Information Technology Executive Leadership's Influence on Organizational Culture. Ann Arbor: Proquest LLC.