by Dr. George Kalaras
“Integrity’’ is a word that stems from the Latin adjective meaning whole or complete. Most followers can probably pledge to the idea that our leaders should demonstrate integrity. Integrity is usually concerned with core values. As leaders who guide organizations this means establishing some kind of accord between their own inner values and those outer ones associated with the establishment. Not only is a value like integrity able to be communicated by using words but more importantly by the behaviors and action portrayed by the leaders.
Perhaps Mathew 5:8 can be considered here. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” If integrity was defined in the beginning of this section as a Latin adjective meaning whole or complete, can a leader be pure in heart without integrity? Can a leader have integrity without being pure in heart? The Greek word for “heart” (καρδιά, kardia) in this passage translates as thoughts or feelings meaning a leader should be clean or pure in his thoughts and feelings. This passage goes deeper than just controlling self in actions or in thoughts. To have impure thoughts and to be able to conceal them is impossible. For example, the Pharisees in Jesus’ time tried to act pure while covering up their inequities, but Jesus exposed their true thoughts and feelings. Therefore, leadership integrity is very much related to personal identity, which is why so much emphasis needs to be placed on recruiting or what we say at TLC, “Discipling. It is to make sure potential Christian leaders have a strong sense of who they are in Christ and what they stand for. In some people this sense of self comes ready-made. In others it is must be nurtured through exposure to different situations and experiences. ”
On the other hand because of poor integrity, there is a strong chance that there is a lack of trust in a work environment. This can lead to a decline in employee satisfaction and can hinder the success of leader-initiated changes. Hence, the leader attempts to exhibit genuine integrity in order to prevent undesirable work attitudes and to build followers’ trust and confidence in the leader’s credibility. In communicating the need to focus on Biblical integrity and offering ways to help leaders develop their performance in this area, it makes sense to focus on what is productive for both the individual and the organization. In terms of the latter it will probably be about promoting throughout the organization’s Biblical behaviors that align with the organization’s mission, core values, create sustainability using long term thinking, enable transparency, ensure respectful, inclusive and diverse treatment of others, and clarify expectations around integrity.