Why is integrity so important?
There are many occasions where sports personalities and pop stars find themselves in controversial circumstances – their personal lives and relationships are brought into the public arena, and criticism is levelled at those who have been unfaithful to their partners, or made decisions for financial gain rather than integrity
Footballer John Terry was reported to have slept with a team mate’s wife, and Peter Crouch famously cheated on his wife…. the list is endless. Often it is an unwelcome distraction to their professional career, as well as a significant embarrassment to those involved, but occasionally their attitude and approach results in them losing their ability to perform – Tiger Woods has yet to regain the heights of previous performance achievements after his personal crisis, and Terrell Owens finds himself in a practically ‘un-coachable’ position in the NFL after struggling to be a team player.
Yet the World at Large is often very keen to forgive these misdemeanours, even occasionally applauding them for the ‘excitement’ and scandal it teasingly offers.
So why is it different for businessmen including Gerald Ratner, Sir Ralph Halpern; and politicians including Bill Clinton, Neil Hamilton and Jeffrey Archer? One reason is that people quite rightly see these individuals as holding a position of trust, and they ‘owe’ it to us to retain our trust and respect, by displaying integrity. A second reason is their actions can often have an impact upon us as individuals and as nations.
Sport and entertainment personalities are famous and respected for what they do, whereas politicians and businessmen are selling themselves – ‘It’s who I am’ that counts. That’s the difference; the difference between ability (for sportsmen), and the necessary combination of ability and integrity for business and politics
Why sane, rational, powerful individuals make poor personal judgements is a good question. There are many reasons, but wayward leaders often feel their power enables them to remain unquestioned and beyond accountability. Sometimes they feel the need to push things, to see how far they can go without being caught out. They like the risk, the high stakes, and often will feel that if it is their personal life in which they are ‘playing with fire’ their business or professional integrity remains… not so!
For all the reasons we have spoken about, leaders need to be the full package to retain the trust of others – and often their position!
