CHAPTER 2
the importance of honesty in leadership
Honesty is one of characteristics
that a leader should have absolutely.
Many people believe that honesty a universal value that all leader need
to build their credibility. Honesty is needed is not only for leadership
actually, but also in every field of life such as politics or economics, that honesty
should be the first. Henry dan Richard Blackaby in an
informal survey when writing theirs book “Spiritual Leadership”
asked many CEO of big company of what kind of people should be their employee.
Most of them giving answer that honesty is the first qualification.[1]
Honesty rose to the top of the list as the single most important
characteristics of the leaders which people look for. Whether people are leaded
into battle or into boardroom, they insist that their leaders should be
truthful, ethical and principled. People will inherently admire leaders who
know where they stand on important principles.
Honesty is seem to be one of essential pillar of
leadership. It is shown in a reliable or honorable behavior and attitude. Honorable behavior such honesty is much more than
being morally and ethically correct. It means being worthy of respect and
gaining the trust of all church member; superiors and subordinates by
maintaining the highest standards of personal conduct. Church members expect
ethical and moral conduct from their leaders.
They hope that a leader can fulfill these expectations by keeping saying
truth honestly.
CHAPTER 3
The Relation of honesty with leadership
Every successful organization
whether a business or a church must possess strong shared values and these
values must be followed by not only by a parts of the members but should be bye
all its members. However how can every
member of any group share, and be committed to, the same set of values if their
leaders are not honest? This is where
the leader comes in. It is the sole responsibility
of the leader to instill these honesty by constant saying the truth .
Kouzes and Pozner‟s introduced Five Practices of
Exemplary Leadership, and emphasizing the relational nature of leadership.
Kouzes and Posner suggest that successful leadership is a function of how well
people interact. In their book Kouzes and Posner write about the importance of
specific traits possessed by a good leader, including honesty, competence, and
the ability to be forward-looking in achieving followership.[2]
Furthermore, leader’s honesty plays an equally important
role in enhancing their leadership effectiveness. Honesty means leaders must be
truthful, frank when necessary, and always keep their word while conducting
leadership in their life. leaders should say what they mean and do what they
say! In doing so, they establish themselves as credible sources for
information, advice, and feedback. More than anything else, followers
want to believe that their leaders are ethical and honest.[3]
Otherwise the organization
members have to trust that leadership is serving everyone’s best interest and a
leader has to trust that church members are fulfilling their responsibilities.
It is therefore that leaders should lead with honesty. By taking on this role, leaders
invoke trust and respect from their team. Dalton says:
It is a readiness issue, because without ethical leadership
. . . there can be no trust by subordinates in the orders of their superiors.
There can be none of the special esprit or bonding that we consider essential
to the teamwork required . . . I view the ethics of moral behavior as one of
the cornerstones of military leadership. Trust required for effective
leadership requires a standard of behavior and the development of personal
character that are in some aspects unique, but ultimately in keeping with the
highest moral code of society not the average, not the common denominator, but
the highest.[4]
Trust,
honesty, and integrity are exceedingly important qualities because they so
strongly affect followers. Most
individuals need to trust others, especially their boss. Subordinates must perceive their leader as a
consistently fair person if they're to engage in the kind of innovative
risk-taking that brings a company rewards. This approach shows that the truth is a common denominator
for all interactions, among any group, and with people of varying personalities.
Positive relationships between leaders and followers are crucial in enabling
people to get extraordinary things done.
Another important thing is that people will emulate
leader style in many things. If leader
keep honesty they will earn trust and respect that ultimately foster passionate
commitment. Otherwise leaders who are dishonest quickly get a reputation for
being unreliable and untrustworthy. This honesty commitment to honorable behavior is crucial to gaining
the trust necessary for leadership. Honesty is a way
of life for the effective leader—it becomes second nature, habitual. In the Journal
of Leadership Studies, Frank Toney emphasizes, “Honesty is essential to
leadership. Effective leaders are credible, with excellent reputations, and high
levels of integrity. Honest leaders may be able to overcome a lack of expertise
in other areas.[5]
[1]See Henry dan Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Nashville, Tennessee:Broadman
and Holman Publisher, 2001) p.
[2]See Kouzes,
J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (2007) p. 25.
[3]F.A. Manske, Jr.,
Secrets of effective leadership. (Columbia, TN: Leadership Education and Development, INC. Columbia, TN. 1990) p. 33
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