When I reflect on effective leadership, the quality I often think of is integrity. Most of us would agree that in order to be successful as a leader, one must have a high degree of integrity. And I want to press the “pause” button for a moment to reflect on the meaning of the word integrity. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “the quality or state of being complete or undivided”. What is it to be complete or undivided and how is this embodied in a leader?
The author Parker Palmer often refers to the notion of the Divided Life; how from an early age we are shaped by messages from our families and from society that it is not safe to be out in the world as our true selves. As we grow into adulthood, we grow into a life where our inner selves are disconnected from our outer selves. My experience of a leader with a high degree of integrity is one where their inner and outer selves have merged into one. These leaders are undivided, sharing their inner truth outwardly, and are known for who they truly are at their core.
When we think of positive role models of leadership, we may think of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks – people who have had the courage to be known and to stand in the face of criticism. They have engaged conflict for the sake of what they believed in.
So let’s talk about you and your role as a leader in your life. In your career, in your relationships with others and in relationship with yourself, where is your opportunity to be courageous? Do you hide your truth from those who disagree with you in order to avoid conflict? And perhaps more importantly, how does that feel when you catch yourself doing it? When I catch myself, I notice a feeling of discord; of being divided and unheard, of un-wholeness, of being out of integrity.
And so here’s a call to that leader that lies within you that is waiting to be heard. There’s a place for you to be known and it’s time to be courageous. Contact me to release the leader in you.
