Integrity is One of the Fifteen Facets of Executive Presence

This article is one in a series focusing on Executive Presence and how leaders can meet their potential through improved communication. Executive Presence is defined by Suzanne Bates in her book “All the Leader You Can Be: The Science of Achieving Extraordinary Executive Presence” as “The qualities of a leader that engage, inspire, align, and move people to act… By understanding how your intentions as a leader match up with perceptions, you can learn how to flex your style to gain trust, build alignment, lead change, inspire performance, and drive executional excellence.”

This article focuses on Integrity, one of the 15 facets that make up a 3-dimensional leader.

Click here to gain a greater understanding of (a) executive presence in general and (b) the other facets that make up a well-rounded leader.

What is Integrity?

Bates describes Integrity, one of the fifteen facets of executive presence, as “acting with fidelity to one’s values, living up to high standards of truth and promise keeping.” People with a high level of Integrity follow their principles and moral compass. They are trustworthy, honest in their interactions, and do what they say they’re going to do.

Two Layers of Integrity

Some facets in the Bates model have two layers. Integrity is one of them. Moral Integrity is about adhering to ethical beliefs, whereas Behavioral Integrity is about following through and doing what you say you’re going to.

How Integrity Makes People Feel

It’s easy to think of Integrity only in terms of Moral Integrity, describing someone who is upstanding, truthful, and a good citizen. While these are certainly important, in the business environment, Behavioral Integrity plays an important role. It has to do with whether or not you do what you said you were going to do. It has to do with whether you respect others’ time and efforts. Do you finish projects when they’re due? Are you punctual? Do you respond to requests for help promptly?

The feelings Integrity generates in others are these:

• I trust you to do the right thing.
• I feel you respect my time.
• I feel that I can depend on you.
• I feel that deep down, you’re a good person.

Not Enough Integrity

When you lack Integrity, you may

• Not be trusted by others because you can’t be counted on.
• Be isolated because others don’t want to interact with you.
• Appear to lack a solid foundation of values on the Moral level.

Specific Behaviors to Improve Perceptions of Integrity

Here are some behaviors and techniques you can use to improve perceptions of your Integrity.

• Speak honestly and be willing to share what you know.
• Show respect for others by showing up to meetings on time.
• Be a good listener, really seek to understand others.
• Take responsibility for your action items.
• Respond to emails and voicemails in a timely manner, even if it’s to say you’ll respond more thoughtfully later.
• Take care to proofread what you’ve written.
• CC only the appropriate people.
• Read others’ writing carefully to avoid misunderstanding.

Too Much Integrity

When someone exhibits too much of a particular facet, it can become an overstrength. An overstrength often results in negative perceptions. While it would be easy to think it’s impossible to have too much Integrity, it is possible. Here are some downsides of it.

• You may be too rigid and stubborn, often as a result of my-way-or-the-highway thinking.
• You may let perfection be the enemy of the good.
• You may take on too much of the workload because you believe you are the only one who can do the job right. As a result, you may annoy others and let them down.

A Story About Lacking Integrity

I once worked with a team of Learning and Development people at a mid-sized organization. The leader of the team was a man named Matt. Matt was a charming, likable, and smart guy. He brought enthusiasm and good ideas to his team. In conversations, he was present and an excellent listener.

The problem was that Matt was chronically late. For morning meetings, he would arrive ten to fifteen minutes after the start time. The excuse for this was generally the long commute from his house to the office. For afternoon meetings, he was almost always the last to arrive. There was nothing intentional or passive-aggressive about Matt’s tardiness. He was simply unaware of the effect his actions had on the team.

Over time, Matt’s behavior wore the team down. No one knew how to talk to him about this because he was the manager and, some felt, they might be overreacting. Was it really that big of a deal? The answer was a definite yes. Here’s why

• The team felt their time and energy weren’t important to Matt.
• They felt disrespected and lesser than Matt.
• They started to lose sight of what Matt was good at because his constant tardiness and lack of remorse became the only thing they could focus on.

This problem with Behavioral Integrity was never resolved because Matt moved on to another position before anything was said. One has to wonder if he carried such bad behavior into his next position.

Final Thoughts About Integrity

Integrity is in the Character dimension of the Bates model, which means that it is an aspect of our personalities developed early in life. Because it is a personality trait that seems to be built in from the very beginning, we sometimes don’t even think about it until someone points out that we’re particularly good at or lacking in it. This is why growing your self-awareness as you continue on your leadership journey is so important.

If you’d like to learn more or explore executive presence coaching options for yourself or your team, click here to schedule a call.