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Integrity

Integrity: A Pillar of Leadership

Integrity, often associated with truthfulness and ethical conduct, derives from the Latin term "integer," meaning whole or complete. It encompasses the inner sense of "wholeness" achieved through consistent honesty and steadfast character.

Analogous to the integrity of a ship, which necessitates a sound structure devoid of cracks or leaks that could cause it to sink under water pressure, an individual with integrity manifests coherence between their words and actions, and develops trust among those that follow.

Effective leadership requires a high degree of integrity due to its influential role and the leader's representation of the organization. The absence of integrity in leadership can inflict severe harm and damage the reputation and people of an organization. This is not to say that leaders of integrity don't make mistakes, just that they do their best to repair when mistakes are made.

A striking example of leadership failure occurred when Titan, a private submersible, succumbed to implosion near the Titanic shipwreck, resulting in the loss of five passengers. Immediately, the critics came out to point fingers at leadership. But, they were pointing in different directions.

This catastrophe was attributed to an "epic failure of leadership" and a delayed deployment of appropriate search and recovery equipment by U.S. authorities, by Rep. Dan Crenshaw. He claims that there were SOS taps being heard until last Wednesday, and that the "boom" that was heard on Sunday night was the submersible hitting the bottom.

Others place blame on OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who perished in the tragedy, for his alleged failure in leadership. According to James Cameron's remarks to the BBC, prominent figures in deep-submergence engineering warned OceanGate through written correspondence that the experimental nature of their operations rendered it unfit for passenger use and required certification. He claims that the "boom" was the implosion on Sunday, not just hitting the bottom.

Assessing this tragedy in the light of another, former President Barack Obama drew attention to the incident's juxtaposition with the capsizing of a migrant-carrying vessel off the coast of Greece. Obama highlighted this to underscore economic disparities and perceived leadership inadequacies contributing to the widening gap between the wealthy and the impoverished.

Various individuals attribute the migrant ship's capsizing to the actions of the Greek Coast Guard, implicating them in a lack of leadership, even though they flatly deny these accusations.

In both of these instances, tragedies happened, failed leadership led to death, and everyone is left pointing fingers. In every instance integrity is questioned, when it was likely ignorance, a gambling disposition, or desperation.

In moments of crisis, detractors seize the opportunity to attack and question the integrity of leaders, often without full comprehension of the decision-making process or access to pertinent information. These opportunistic critics seek scapegoats, decrying the integrity of leaders whose decisions they disagree with, often to gain notoriety or influence for themselves.

However, such circumstances represent the inherent challenges of leadership and underscore the paramount importance of integrity. Leaders face criticism, pessimism, and character defamation. Failing to uphold integrity during these relentless attacks would only lead to a leader's descent to the level of their attackers, thereby vindicating their critics to some extent.

This is not to say that leaders don’t hide their mistakes (they do that constantly) or, in some instances are nefariously taking advantage of the people in their organization. Which is the case in the two tragedies? What is to learn from this for leaders?

To navigate the realm of leadership, one must lead with unwavering integrity. Courageous decisions, even when met with dissent, are an integral part of effective leadership. Leaders must consistently choose the path of righteousness, irrespective of circumstances, to foster flourishing communities.

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