The Essential Ingredient to Exceptional Leadership

What if I told you that there is an essential ingredient to exceptional leadership?

And without this essential ingredient, it would be impossible for you to truly be an exceptional leader.

And… This essential ingredient is probably not what you think.

Let me tell you a story.

There’s an old fable that tells of a poor woodcutter who had nothing but an old iron axe. This axe was his only possession and the only source of his income. One day, while cutting wood near a river, he accidentally drops his axe into the water. Distraught, he sits by the river, lamenting his loss.

A fairy appears and, seeing his distress, offers to help. She dives into the river and retrieves a beautiful golden axe, asking if it belongs to him. The woodcutter honestly replies that it is not his. The fairy then brings up a silver axe, and again he honestly replies that it is not his axe. Finally, she brings up his old iron axe, and he joyfully claims it as his own.

Impressed by his honesty, the fairy rewards him by giving him all three axes: the golden, the silver, and his own iron axe.

The moral of the story, of course, emphasizes the value of what we’re going to talk about today.

Integrity… is the essential ingredient to exceptional leadership.

What is integrity?

There are a number of definitions that can be helpful for our understanding of integrity.

For instance, integrity can be defined as the quality of being honest and upholding strong moral principles.

Integrity can be thought of as the state of being whole or undivided.

I love C.S. Lewis' definition of integrity. He says, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching."

Zig Ziglar stated that “Integrity is the first step to true greatness."

Now if you’re thinking… What does integrity have to do with exceptional leadership?

Oh, my friend. It has EVERYTHING to do with leadership.

Why?

Because leadership is all about fostering trust, and trust is built on integrity.

Let me repeat that…

Leadership is all about fostering trust, and trust is built on integrity.

Nothing undermines trust and respect like a lack of integrity.

Lance Armstrong, as you may know, was once hailed as a cycling legend, rising to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After battling cancer and making a remarkable comeback, he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005. His inspiring story of resilience and triumph made him an icon, and he became a symbol of hope for many.

But then came allegations of doping. Armstrong initially denied it, but then a comprehensive investigation revealed that Armstrong had, in fact, been using performance-enhancing drugs. In 2012, he was stripped of his Tour de France titles and banned from competitive cycling for life.

The lesson Armstrong learned is that while talent and determination can lead to a certain degree of success, integrity is essential to leave a true and lasting legacy.

Think about it.

You can become a leader and have some wins, but if you lack integrity as a leader, you will ultimately lose.

Dwight Eisenhower, who achieved the five-star rank as General of the Army during World War II and who was our 34th president, once said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”

But that’s not really going well, is it?

Every month, it seems as though we witness yet another leader caught in scandal and dishonesty.

It begs the question: Have we lost our vision for the importance of integrity in leadership?

Well, today, let’s start with just you and me.

How do WE commit to a life of integrity?

How do we make sure that we aren’t the next victim of moral failure?

Let me give you three things to think about.

Here’s the first one…

To be a leader with integrity, we need vision.

Specifically, we need a vision for what we want the legacy of our lives to be.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Nobody has a vision to be unfaithful to their partner, or to get a DUI, to cut corners and make enemies, or to have their kids resent them.

These are results, or natural byproducts, of someone operating without vision.

You may have heard the ancient scripture from the famous book of wisdom in the Bible, Proverbs, that says, “Where there's no vision, the people perish.”

Nobody sets out to lose their integrity; integrity is lost when our vision is weak.

So, do you have a vision for your life?

Start with that.

I have a vision to be faithful to my wife and to love her more with each passing year.

I have a vision to be an intentional and loving father to my four kids.

I have a vision to serve people. To serve you.

I have a vision for making a meaningful impact in this world with my one and only life.

I have a vision to end my life well and not in scandal.

And you know what? I can’t realize that vision unless I have integrity.

What’s YOUR vision?

That’s the first point.

Okay… The second point is this….

Never, ever, ever, should we think “that’ll never happen to me.”

My friend, that is quite possibly the biggest mistake we could ever make.

That kind of thinking is the death sentence to our integrity.

Why?

Because as soon as we start thinking “that’ll never happen to me,” our guard comes down.

If we let our guard down, we become vulnerable.

If we keep ourselves in a vulnerable state for long, it’s game over.

We need to understand that we are as vulnerable as anyone else to moral failure.

Therefore, we need to keep our guard up.

What does that look like?

It looks like… Accountability.

Let me tell you something… accountability is powerful. Accountability is your friend.

Many people view it as something restrictive, or controlling, or something negative.

That’s just not true… I’m here to tell you that accountability equals freedom.

Accountability equals life change.

Accountability is taking ownership of your actions.

It's the key to living a life of integrity.

I’ll be 100% transparent with you.

I have accountability in just about every facet of my life.

And I intentionally choose accountability partners who are strong in the area for which I am being held accountable.

I wake up at 4:30am every morning because I have other men holding me accountable who expect me to meet them at the gym at 5:00 am.

I have a successful friend in finance who holds me accountable financially; he checks in on how I’m doing with investing and budgeting.

I have seasoned parents who hold me accountable for my parenting.

I’ll pick specific individuals to hold me accountable for certain goals I’ve set for myself, or certain spiritual disciplines that I consider mission-critical.

I also have accountability software on all of my devices because I don’t want to be a man who watches porn or any type of vulgar content.

I have a brick device that holds me accountable for not wasting time on time-wasting apps.

I could go on and on…

I love accountability.

I need accountability.

Accountability is the fuel to live a life of integrity.

If you want to go the long run, you need to fuel up.

And let’s be clear about something…

Accountability is not weakness.

Accountability is all about attacking weakness.

It’s about preparing the soil where integrity can be nurtured.

It’s about surrounding yourself with fellow soldiers who have your back.

It’s about having a vision of integrity and taking ownership of your actions that lead you there.

So ask yourself…

Where in my life do I need someone to hold me accountable?

I’m sure you already know.

Let me ask you this: What’s holding you back from getting accountability in that area?

Why wouldn’t you?

If I were to guess, it’s probably because of pride, insecurity, or both.

I’ve been there. I get it.

But can we state the obvious that those are not good reasons?

And you know they aren’t.

I want to encourage you to invite accountability into the areas of your life that you know aren’t going well and watch what happens.

It’s life-changing.

Okay…

We’ve discussed vision, we talked about keeping your guard up, we talked about utilizing accountability…

Let’s bring it full circle.

Why is integrity the most essential ingredient to exceptional leadership?

It’s because leadership is built on trust, and trust is built through integrity.

Integrity is where leadership begins.

And more importantly, integrity is the only way your leadership can last.

In other words, if you want to make a lasting impact in this world.

Create a vision of a life marked by integrity.

Keep your guard up.

And invite the power of accountability into every facet of your life so that you can take ownership over the actions that lead to you ultimately finishing well.

Only then can we truly become exceptional leaders.

Thanks for spending time with me.

See you next week!