Satya Chaitanya: Presentation Texts

XLRI: Indian Philosophy for Leadership Excellence

Leadership and Integrity

“Integrity and leadership are inextricably linked. Without integrity, leadership theories
are just that – theories. Integrity is the cement that binds organizations together, the
cornerstone of mission accomplishment.”
– Ronald Fogleman
“Sheelam pradhanam purushe.” “The worthiest thing in man is integrity.” - The
Mahabharata
The story of Prahlada and Indra. By serving Prahlada, Indra learns the secret of his power
and effectiveness, the secret of his overlordship of three worlds: his sheelam, his
integrity. When Prahlada promises Indra a boon, Indra asks for his Sheelam [integrity].
When Prahlada grants it, Sheelam leaves him. following Sheelam, Dharma [Virtue],
Satya [Truth], Vrtta [Character], and Bala [Strength] and Shree [Prosperity], all leave
him.
Perhaps the story of Prahlada and Indra is symbolic. Indra is usually a symbol for the
mind: indriyanam raja indrah – Indra is the name for the lord of the senses, that is, the
mind. The mind is a tempter and when we are tempted by it, we lose our integrity.
In the organisational context, the integrity of the leader of supreme importance. While a
leader definitely has power arising from his position, his true power base is referent
power: power that comes from the respect he commands from his followers by virtue of
his integrity, from their admiring him, identifying with him and looking up to him, from
their trust in him.
Where the followers do not see integrity in the leader, no respect is possible for him and
consequently he will have no referent power [the most important source of a leader’s
power] over them.
Integrity builds trust. Trust is an incredibly precious commodity, and is always the first
casualty when integrity is lost.
 Integrity results in a solid reputation, not just an image.
 Integrity helps a leader to be credible, not just clever.
 Integrity is a powerful influence on all around the leader.
 Without integrity, the leader loses the right to command and the authority to demand.
 Integrity facilitates high standards of performance.
 Integrity gives you strong inner strength.
 A leader’s integrity works miracles on the followers. Integrity inspires followers to
excel themselves for the leader’s cause. In some cases, it creates the willingness to lay
down their lives, or make other great sacrifices.
 A leader’s integrity works miracles on the followers. Integrity inspires followers to
excel themselves for the leader’s cause. In some cases, it creates the willingness to lay
down their lives, or make other great sacrifices.
 Gandhi as a modern example for how integrity works to create miracles by inspiring
followers.
A failure of integrity poisons the outfit, destroys trust between people, and breaks down
unit cohesion. While leadership qualities are diverse, integrity is simply a yes-or-no
question. You either have it or you don’t. For that reason, leaders must always display the
highest standards of integrity.
A failure of integrity poisons the outfit, destroys trust between people, and breaks down
unit cohesion. While leadership qualities are diverse, integrity is simply a yes-or-no
question. You either have it or you don’t. For that reason, leaders must always display the
highest standards of integrity.
Integrity works and is essential in a leader. But, perhaps more importantly, a world in
which leaders of men are without integrity would not be a world worth living in.
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