Honesty And Integrity – A Key Value For Successful Servant Leaders
Updated: Feb 1, 2024
Written by: David M Zechman BSE, MPA, LFACHE, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In my recently published Amazon 5-star-rated book, ''Driven by Compassion – 8 Values for Successful Servant Leaders,'' one of the top-rated servant leadership values by those leaders interviewed for the book was 'Honesty and Integrity.
Honesty and integrity, as well as authenticity, are the cornerstones of a successful servant leader.
These values represent the concept of being open and truthful toward both the individuals one leads and anything related to your organization. Charles Lindstrom, the late President and CEO of Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, once said, ''Honesty and integrity are leadership in its highest sense, which demand a command of conscience. They assert themselves through commitment and example, rather than through direction.''
The need for honesty and integrity for successful servant leaders is both corporate and individual. In many instances, corporate and individual honesty and integrity overlap, depending on the situation at hand. The specific challenges for this value include ego, conflict avoidance, weak leadership, and corporate dishonesty. It is important to remember that a leader must always be genuine when being honest because most, if not all, employees can quickly tell if they are not hearing the truth.
A true story of a strategic decision that did not include honesty and integrity: A large hospital system made a strategic decision to partner with a single cardiology group to manage and lead the cardiovascular service line, excluding the other cardiology and surgery groups. The negotiations were held in secret, excluding everyone except the one cardiology group. This obviously infuriated the other cardiology groups so much that they all left to join a competitor. This was a bad outcome for the hospital system because established hospital-physician relationships were permanently destroyed, and a major competitor was rebuilt.
In the name of honesty and integrity, should the hospital system include the other groups in the negotiations? Absolutely, yes.
Dr. Kevin Crowe, a cardiologist, said, "A leadership style that is honest, genuine, and full of integrity can increase employee engagement and organizational performance, but it must be sincere to work and will take time and effort by leadership." This takes patience and a commitment to this value. As the old saying goes, "All we really have is our integrity."
Finally, one thing to remember is that your organization will always reflect your leadership. If an organization's leaders are less than honest in their interactions, if that is the model they establish, then you can absolutely count on the organization following that dishonest lead. If a leader is dishonest and acts without integrity, then how can they expect the people they lead to be honest in their actions and behavior? If you extol the benefits of honesty and integrity and "walk the talk" with your actions, then employees will respond accordingly. This goes beyond the simple fact that leading with honesty and integrity is just the right thing to do.
David M Zechman BSE, MPA, LFACHE, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
David Zechman is currently a published author writing "Driven by Compassion ‒ 8 Values For Successful Servant Leaders" which is based on real life experiences of interviewed leaders from CEO's to supervisors. Zechman is also an accomplished public speaker, executive coach, leadership consultant, college professor, an active member of two boards, and CEO of Mergestone Group which acquires and manages assisted living and home health agencies. Zechman spent 39 years in healthcare until he retired as a hospital President and CEO.." Zechman is also an accomplished public speaker, leadership development consultant, CEO of Mergestone Group a published author, writing "Driven By Compassion ‒ 8 Values
