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Have you ever held your breath during an 1 on 1?

Have you ever held your breath during an 1 on 1?

Have you ever held your mouth in front of your manager or a colleague? What was the last time you were able to be frank in a 1on1 call with your manager or leader?

We may all have been in a situation where trust and respect are not the guardrails of our direct working environment. Through this article, we view, via LeadershipLens, integrity as a nuclear weapon in hands of a leader and HOW we can help you to get better at it.

Leading with Integrity:
Morality. Ethics. Principles. That's it.

Reading Tip:
In LeadershipLens, we aim to be brief, but more than adequate, so, I totally encourage you to pause during reading, and try to reflect deeply. Thank me later.

Do you want to belong to that 5% of global standards leaders?

Focus on your daily interactions and go beyond standards by demonstrating honesty, transparency, and consistency in your words and actions.

Set a good example
Do always remember, to role model the behavior you want to generate.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to be a good role model for your direct reports.

Get To Know Your values.

Take responsibility for your actions
That has nothing to do with making mistakes, the reverse case, actually. Everyone makes mistakes, and that's your hot point to raise your leadership style of integrity levels, by taking responsibility of them and act with fairness. Be vulnerable.

Be Vulnerable. It's a human trait.

Don't make a promise if you can't keep it
This includes meeting deadlines, holding yourself to your word, and fulfilling commitments to coworkers. It is not that easy to earn trust and respect from direct reports, especially if you are unreliable. Similarly, recognize your limitations and don’t over-commit. It is far better to say no than it is to fail to follow through on a promise.

Personal Accountability. KEEP your WORD.

Honesty time: Do you, actually, lead with integrity?


In assessing your level of integrity, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Am I accountable for my behaviour and the decisions I make?
  • Do I accept responsibility for my mistakes?
  • Am I setting a good example for my direct reports?
  • Do I always follow through on my commitments and promises?
  • Do I act in ways that build trust with my direct reports?

A practice to get better by TODAY:
Pick up some cadences or specific meetings or live interactions with colleagues and keep questioning your self, after those events. Do your self-coaching and keep a brief record of your answers and anticipate your progress on them, after a while. You will be impressed.

Still hungry?

Here are three tips to improve your leadership style with integrity.

Cultivate a good reputation

Tip number 1
Remember that while it takes time and effort to build a good reputation, that reputation is easily damaged by negative behaviour.
To walk this way, empathise more, embrace actions infused by ethics, practice to active listening and retain an eye contact.

Consistency is key 

Tip number 2
Grab a piece of paper and create your value map. Then, create three same-centered circles.
Put only 3 of your values in the smallest circle standing in the middle, and start assigning the other values to the other two circles. As far as you are getting from the center, the priority gets lowered.
Then, prior to closing your working day, create a habit to revisit that value schematic and raise your consistency level of aligning those values and their priority to your every day behaviour, actions and interactions with others.

Hold yourself to a high moral standard

Tip number 3
Acting with integrity also includes working diligently rather than cutting corners, accepting responsibility for decisions, and being honest and open with co-workers and direct reports.
For example, when making decisions, true leaders should consider potential consequences on the organisation and even further, on other people. For that, once a semester host a team agreement workshop/exercise and map your team morals and ethics through a joyful conversation or session.
With that, as a leader, you will make crystal clear the importance of morality, not only for you as a personality, but for your team, too. That will deepen people relationships and respect to each other. Food and beverages in those sessions, will help.

Article quote:
“It is true that integrity alone won't make you a leader, but without integrity you will never be one.”

Still hungry for more?

Your next research: Were you aware of the Warren Buffet method to success?
Integrity, honesty and generosity are the cornerstones of it. A figure who embraces leadership with integrity values is Warren Buffett, whose unwavering commitment to ethical business practices have earned him the trust and respect of investors, stakeholders, and the public alike.