Investor's Business Daily, June 28th, 2007
Integrity is the most important qualification for a successful business leader. That's the finding of a survey of 1,400 chief financial officers. According to the CFOs asked by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robert Half Management Resources RHI, 31% deem integrity the top quality for a leader. Experience and communication, both at 27%, are next.
Integrity has always been important, says Ryan Sutton, a vice president at Robert Half, but it's especially so now. "It's a more marketable business trait," he said. "It's not just a 'nice to have.'"
Shareholders are driving some of that, he says. They're demanding that companies reflect the same values they have.
Bob Damon, president of Los Angeles-based executive search firm Korn Ferry International's North American unit, is seeing companies demand that the people they hire operate with integrity.
The change in hiring firms' attitudes shows up in the amount and scope of background checks. That shows how big of a deal integrity is to most firms.
"Our clients are demanding we do it," Damon said. "It's significantly more often than five years ago."
It's all aimed at a desire to bring in leaders with ethics. "The public demands integrity," he said.
It's easy to see why. Integrity is vital to building trust-filled relationships with all those around you, from vendors to clients, says Linda Finkle, chief executive of Incedo Group, a Washington, D.C.-based executive coaching firm.
Consistency is key, she says. The first time a leader acts without integrity, even if it's on a small thing, trust is lost. Then it opens the door to more wrongdoing.
"People around you wonder what else and where else is that happening," Finkle said.
Benefits of operating with integrity include:
Predictability. People know what decision you'll make before you make it, Finkle says. They also know what you expect from them.
Attracting workers. "People want to go to work for people they trust," she said.
Shareholder interest. A benefit to new, more-detailed financial reporting, Sutton says, is that it gives shareholders a clear view into how much integrity a company has. "Five or 10 years ago, I don't think people felt they had a way to evaluate the ethical quality of companies," he said.
Is all the attention on integrity making a difference?
Finkle isn't so sure. "I think privately held companies are still doing whatever they want to do," she said. They typically don't have to answer to outside shareholders or a board. Nor do they face the same reporting requirements.
Damon argues that most companies have seen the light.
"They genuinely want someone with integrity," he said.
He points out that some people who cut ethical corners used to be able to get high-level jobs; now they can forget it.
The bottom line: Public companies know what shareholders want.
"There is a consequence to living your life without integrity," Damon said.
