The supreme quality for leadership is integrity
Dwight D. Eisenhower
There was large tree on the side of busy road close to where I live. I am not a tree expert, but I would guess by the size it had to be over 100 years old. Several weeks ago, we had a pretty significant storm and knocked the tree down.
I drove by a couple days after the storm and noticed that the entire core of the tree appeared to be rotten. From the outside the tree had all appearances of being healthy and solid, however when the storm came through, its strength was tested and down it went.
Scandals Everywhere
It seems like over the past couple of years the business landscape has been plagued with scandals. Enron, Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Valeant Pharmaceuticals to name a few. Many of these companies appeared solid from the outside. Stock prices soaring, revenues at record setting levels as the old saying goes they appeared “too big to fail” However, they did.
Integrity Gaps
Do you think the executives at these companies started out with the goal to tank their entire company? No, I would like to assume that most of them started with the best intent.
Eugen Soltes, a Harvard Business School professor, has studied what he defines as “integrity gaps”. These are areas where behavior begins to subtly deviate from the standard. Initially the slide is so small it is not noticed. However, over time the behavior becomes so systemic that the whole business collapses. Rotten from the core.
It could start with turning a blind eye to some minor financial irregularities. Looking the other way why a valuable employee demonstrates bullying behavior. Dismissing concerns from other employees.
Early Identification
As leaders the best way to minimize the risk of integrity gaps in your company is to identify them early. However, Soltes points out in his article that most employees do not report internal issues. Employees need to feel safe to provide feedback and have courage to report it even if it could potentially implicate a senior leader.
If you study many of the recent corporate scandals, I am sure you would find there were people at multiple points along the way that could have stopped the scandal but elected not to. The big question to ask is why?
Why would an employee not feel empowered to report potential bad behavior?
Soltes recommends some potential solutions such as internal surveys or the use of a dedicated phone number employees could use and maintain anonymity.
Start with Yourself
Since these integrity gaps can be so insidious it is very important to take a step back and analyze things to ensure you are not contributing to the problem.
While many of these scandals brought down entire companies, they may not have started in the C-Suite. You need to look at your department or your role and make sure you have integrity in what you are doing.
Are you sneaking into work a little late or sneaking out a little early?
Are you dismissing concerns from your teammates? Turning a blind eye?
Are you overlooking a little creative accounting in a department?
Are you in anyway implicit in any of the integrity gaps in your areas?
Never sacrifice your integrity for an individual or a company. The short-term gain never outweighs the long term cost.
Once your integrity is gone, you are a lot like the rotten tree that was knocked down during the storm.