Rules, integrity and leadership

The rumbling scandal over MPs’ expenses has thrown into sharp relief the difference between playing by the rules and operating from integrity.  The public is outraged by MPs apparently believing that playing by the rules is enough.  It is clear that something more authentic than this is needed from our leaders – and that ’something’ is integrity – the discipline and the courage to do what you claim is the right thing even when no-one’s looking.  Research has shown that integrity is one of the attributes that followers value most in leaders.  We’re reminded too of the dictum by Martin Luther King Jr: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  Strong, compelling and resilient leadership involves taking personal responsibility for making moral and ethical judgments that might not offer the easiest way forward and might not bring the kind of material rewards that oil the wheels of everyday living.  In the aftermath of the exposure of MPs’ behaviour, one can’t help wondering about the role models of leadership they represent….