When I coach leaders, one of the first exercises I ask them to work through is their ?œnon-negotiables??list. This gets to one of the classic leadership conversations: Do you want those following you to follow a specified path to achieve the desired result, or do you want the desired result?

Integrity is about tangible actions for an intangible concept and is the foundational element of leadership. People do not want to follow a leader they cannot trust. If they are forced to follow that leader, they will do the bare minimum needed to get by.

Integrity dictates the same behavior, whether in public or in private. Consistency, delivering on commitments, and maintaining standards are all facets of integrity.

A bit of advice Marines often hear before going on liberty in port applies to integrity and ethical decision-making: would you want your mother to know what you are doing? For you the question may be, would you want this to be on the front page of USA Today?

(c) 2006 FireStarter Speaking and Consulting