By now you’ve likely heard about the evidence against the Illinois Governor. He is accused of, among other things, trying to sell of trade President-Elect Obama’s open Senate seat for personal gain.
It’s sad.
But it is a reminder for us as leaders.
In my book, Remarkable Leadership, I talk about 13 competencies that lead to effective leadership. Many of them imply honesty, integrity and ethics – though in that book those highly important qualities aren’t the focus.
Yet, without honesty, integrity and ethics, you can’t effectively influence or persuade for the long term.
No amount of leadership coaching will effect the basic decisions others will make about honesty and integrity. However great your skills, no matter how effectively designed your leadership development program, with out a bedrock foundational starting point of high ethics, character and honesty, these efforts won’t have the desired effects personally or organizationally.
As leaders we must think beyond ourselves – we must focus on the greater good for our teams, our organizations and our communities. When we do those things, we will succeed. If we don’t, all the skills in the world won’t cover it up for long.
That is a positive lesson we can take as leaders from a very sad situation.
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