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GREAT LEADERS HAVE INTEGRITY

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.

— Dwight D. Eisenhower, former U.S. president

Leadership character is a core ingredient of effective leadership in today’s workplace. While character can be difficult to capture on a resume, it shapes accountability, collaboration, and fairness across teams. Integrity is a central element of leader character and supports individual, team, and organizational success.

What is Integrity?

Integrity is defined as holding oneself to a high moral standard and behaving consistently with ethical standards, even in difficult situations. It encompasses honesty, strong moral principles, and adherence to ethical norms. Integrity involves consistency in actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. Individuals high in integrity are seen by others as behaving in a way that is consistent with their personal values and beliefs and with organizational policies and practices.

Integrity encompasses elements of authenticity, candidness, transparency, principledness, and consistency. This is considered a foundational value that is critical to uphold organizational values and behave ethically in the workplace.¹ Integrity may be particularly important for leaders, as previous research has found that leader integrity is related to follower satisfaction and trust, ultimately leading to improved follower job performance.²

What It Means to Lead with Integrity

A positive and productive work environment depends on leaders who act with integrity. Integrity in leadership includes honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability. Leaders who demonstrate integrity align words with actions and take accountability for mistakes rather than concealing them, shifting blame, or making excuses. Integrity also includes following company policies, using company time and resources appropriately, and treating colleagues and direct reports with respect.

Leader behavior reflects not only on personal reputation, but also on the organization’s reputation.

Benefits of Integrity in Leadership

Integrity provides several benefits to both leaders and organizations. For example, research has linked greater integrity with increased workplace performance.³ Additionally, leaders with integrity foster greater trust and satisfaction among their direct reports, who are more likely to follow suit.⁴ Employees working under high integrity leaders demonstrate more positive workplace behaviors, such as helping others during busy periods, and fewer negative workplace behaviors, such as falsely calling in sick.⁵ Employees who trust leadership integrity are more likely to work hard, perform well, and show stronger loyalty to the organization.⁶

How to Assess Leadership Integrity

The questions below can be used to help assess leadership integrity:

• Are my actions consistent with my beliefs?
• Do I tell the truth even when it is uncomfortable to do so?
• Am I accountable for my behavior and the decisions I make?
• Do I accept responsibility for my mistakes?
• Am I honest with myself about how my actions affect others?
• Do I hold myself and those I work with to a high ethical standard?
• Am I setting a good example for my direct reports?
• Do I care about doing the right thing?
• Do I always follow through on my commitments and promises?
• Do I act in ways that build trust with my direct reports?
• Have I behaved in a way that is consistent with my company’s core values?

How to Improve Leadership Integrity

Cultivate a Strong Reputation

A leader’s reputation is built on more than performance. It also rests on being seen as honest, responsible, reliable, and respectful by coworkers and direct reports. Reputations take time to build and can be damaged quickly by poor judgment or unethical behavior. Because leader conduct influences organizational reputation, responsible, respectful, and ethical behavior matters every day.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key. It is difficult to have faith in a leader who says one thing but does another — a leader’s words and actions should align. Similarly, leader behavior should be in line with organizational values and policies. When leaders ignore stated standards, it signals to direct reports that those standards are not important. Leaders who consistently act with integrity can inspire direct reports to follow the same example.⁷

Hold a High Moral Standard

Ethical standards are tested more often in everyday situations than in headline-making dilemmas. Integrity often involves choosing between what is easy and what is right. Leaders with integrity do what is morally and ethically sound and avoid questionable practices. When making decisions, they consider consequences for the organization and others.

Integrity also includes working diligently rather than cutting corners, accepting responsibility for decisions, and communicating honestly with coworkers and direct reports. Choosing the harder — but right — decision can have positive long-term implications for both leaders and organizations.⁸

Admit Mistakes

A practical way to strengthen integrity is a consistent commitment to telling the truth, even when it is uncomfortable.⁹ That includes acknowledging mistakes and revising positions when new, conflicting information emerges. Accepting responsibility builds credibility and signals accountability and ownership.¹⁰

Communicate Transparently

Integrity is reinforced through open, honest communication. Transparency about values, intentions, and decision-making can feel uncomfortable, but it helps teams understand the reasoning behind decisions and reduces avoidable confusion. It also makes it easier for others to recognize when support or perspective is needed.

How to Lead with Integrity

The steps below support integrity in day-to-day leadership:

1. Disagree Without Becoming Disagreeable

Integrity matters, but it is not the only ingredient in workplace success. Rigidity can suppress learning and collaboration. A balanced approach welcomes mistakes as part of innovation and better decision-making.¹¹ To support integrity and collaboration at the same time, leaders can ask team members to generate ideas individually before meeting as a group and reinforce that all voices will be heard. This approach helps surface novel ideas without forcing anyone into the role of “devil’s advocate.”

2. Set a Strong Example

Direct reports take cues from leader behavior. Disregarding company policies, gossiping about colleagues, or using company time for personal matters signals that the behavior is acceptable. Over time, that can normalize unethical or counterproductive behavior and damage both culture and results. Research suggests that low integrity is associated with counterproductive workplace behaviors. Leaders who act responsibly, make ethical decisions, and uphold organizational values help establish clear expectations for conduct.^12,13

3. Take Responsibility for Actions

Mistakes happen, and plans fail. Rather than conceal errors or shift blame, strong leaders take responsibility. Fixing what can be fixed — and learning from what cannot — builds trust. It also makes it safer for direct reports to acknowledge mistakes early, when issues are easier to address.

4. Consider Context Before Acting

Integrity sometimes requires uncomfortable decisions. It also requires awareness of organizational context. Before taking an action that may affect others, consider the organization’s values, norms, and policies. For example, formal action such as filing an HR complaint may be necessary in some circumstances, and it should align with organizational standards and legal requirements. Major decisions should be guided by judgment informed by context.

5. Honor Commitments

Trust and respect are difficult to earn when leaders are unreliable. Direct reports expect promises to be kept. Honoring commitments includes meeting deadlines, following through on decisions, and being dependable in day-to-day interactions. It also includes recognizing limits and avoiding over-commitment. Declining a commitment is often better than failing to follow through.

Integrity is not a slogan or a single decision; it is the pattern leaders set through everyday choices. When words and actions align, standards are applied consistently, and accountability is visible, trust grows and performance becomes more sustainable. In practice, strengthening integrity means reinforcing the conditions that support it: clear expectations, transparent communication, and follow-through that others can rely on. Over time, these behaviors do more than protect reputations — they shape culture, strengthen judgment, and create the foundation teams need to do their best work.

Resources

ASSESS: Take the LSP-R leadership assessment free trial and see your integrity score
WATCH: Live Life with Integrity
READ: The Importance of Integrity in the Workplace
DEVELOP: Develop integrity with SIGMA’s coaching services

Download the “Great Leaders Have Integrity” PDF guide below: 

1. Crossan, M., Seijts, G., & Gandz J. (2015). Integrity. Developing Leadership Character (pp. 15-24). ↩︎
2. Palanski, M. E., & Yammarino, F. J. (2011). Impact of behavioral integrity on follower job performance: A three-study examination. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(4), 765-786 ↩︎
3. Johnson, M. K., Rowatt, W. C., & Petrini, L. (2011). A new trait on the market: Honesty-Humility as a unique predictor of job performance ratings. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 857-862. ↩︎
4. Dineen, B. R., Lewicki, R. J., Tomlinson, E. C. (2006). Supervisory guidance and behavioral integrity: Relationships with employee citizenship and deviant behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 622-635 ↩︎
5. Johnson, M. K., Rowatt, W. C., & Petrini, L. (2011). A new trait on the market: Honesty-Humility as a unique predictor of job performance ratings. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 857-862 ↩︎
6. Palanski, M. E., & Yammarino, F. J. (2011). Impact of behavioral integrity on follower job performance: A three-study examination. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 765-786. ↩︎
7. Dirks, K. T., Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 611-628. ↩︎
8. Chestnut, R. (2020). How to build a company that (actually) values integrity. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/07/how-to-build-a-company-that-actually-values-integrity. ↩︎
9. Oliver, V. (2021). 13 ways to demonstrate integrity in the workplace. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/how-succeed-with-integrity-competitive-workplace.html ↩︎
10. Indeed Editorial Team. (2020). How to maintain professional integrity in the workplace. Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/maintaining-professional-integrity ↩︎
11. Crossan, M., Seijts, G., & Gandz J. (2015). Integrity. Developing Leadership Character (pp. 15-24). ↩︎
12. Johnson, M. K., Rowatt, W. C., & Petrini, L. (2011). A new trait on the market: Honesty-Humility as a unique predictor of job performance ratings. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 857-862. ↩︎
13. Grojean, M. W., Resick, C. J., Dickson, M. W., & Smith, D. B. (2004). Leaders, values, and organizational climate: Examining leadership strategies for establishing an organizational climate regarding ethics.Journal of Business Ethics, 55, 223-241. ↩︎