Martin Binyenya, MA Clinical Psychologist
John is a leader in a private Christ-centered institution of higher learning in Kenya. Because of his ethical, academic,and professional excellence, he has gradually risen up the ladder to where he is now. Before his current work, John used to serve in a public institution of higher learning where he was rejected because of standing by his values and refusing to be compromised by politicians who wanted to be awarded business deals in the organisation. The politicians mobilised people to oppose him and later his services were terminated. He handed over responsibility smoothly to the new person. Given his strong Christian foundation, John took the predicament positively. After some time with no work and no income, John found another job and is now thriving, leading with integrity of heart and skilful hands in transforming lives in his work place. Recently he received an award as the best leader of higher learning institutions in Kenya.
People describe John as someone who exemplifies the values of humility, service, hard work, result orientation and vision. He is described as visionary and selfless, an astute administrator and great teacher, who teaches by word and life. He is a team leader of high integrity and emotional intelligence. He has the ability to identify potential among learners and then mentoring them to realize their full potential. One of the persons he has mentored is a young man who was doing teaching practice in the school where John was the head teacher several years ago. This individual delights in having John as consistent teacher and guide.
When I wrote this article, there were ongoing demonstrations all over Kenya mostly by young people who started their agitation for rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 that if passed, would have made the already high cost of living worse. Even when the president declined to sign the finance bill which was passed by parliament into law, there was still agitation that expanded to issues around leadership of the executive and legislature. Having followed some meetings of the young people that are mainly through social media specifically Twitter and TikTok, the underlying problem seems to be poor leadership largely around lack of integrity that is affecting the physical, mental, social and economic well-being of the people. As I listened, it came to me that what young people are asking for is leadership that is geared towards leading with integrity of heart and skilful hands. It seems that leaders are focused on accumulating wealth, power, and success over love, humility and service. The wisdom of ‘search for values and money will follow you’ is rare.
Leadership is an element that is found in every facet of life and is a key parameter for economic, social, spiritual, mental, physical, and organizational development. According to Dinibutum (2020), leadership can be viewed as the ability to involve others in the process of accomplishing a goal within some larger system or environment. Leaders carry out such a process by applying their leadership qualities such as values, beliefs, character, knowledge, skills, ethics, experience, and culture. Leaders inspire people, move them to action, make their organizations more fruitful and change the world. The capable leaders are those who know how to capitalize on the potentialities inherent in their personality, their subordinates, and the situation. Although, indeed, born with greater natural gifts than others, the ability to lead is a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved.
Carvajal et al, (2023) examines qualities of a leader. These attributes include visionary thinking, emotional intelligence, integrity and authenticity, resilience and adaptability, empowering and developing others, cultivating growth and individuality, spreading positivity, and promoting peace. These qualities reveal leadership that is holistic and that allows inclusiveness, a sense of belonging and ownership, and hence accountability. Emotional intelligence is a key parameter for effective leadership. Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in effective leadership by enabling leaders to understand and manage their own emotions and those of their team members. This skill fosters better communication, empathy, and collaboration, leading to a more cohesive and productive work environment.
Leading with integrity can be elaborated as the act of being morally trustworthy, honest, true to oneself, and acting by what one says (Moorman et al., 2012). It is a value-based leadership where morals are the engine of leadership. Integrity is one of the top qualities of leadership that can bring positive transformation and productivity. Those who lead with integrity earn trust from those they lead. Notably, people would not trust an individual who has slipped in character. The epicentre of leading with integrity is one’s character. Character and leadership credibility always go hand in hand. Character makes trust possible and trust makes leadership possible. One’s character communicates consistency, potential, and respect. Leading with integrity enhances good workplace spirituality, respect, justice, responsibility and trust in organizations which has direct relevance to the behavior of leaders (Moorman et al., 2012). A study by Engelbrecht et al, (2015) revealed a positive relationship between trust in a leader and his or her ethical leadership. An effective leader therefore has to be intentional in influencing others positively. Integrity prioritizes people over profits and strives to make a positive impact on their team, organizations, and community. Leading with integrity is standing with what we believe in terms of our values regardless of the consequences.
Leading with integrity of heart is having good self-knowledge in terms of our values, strengths, limitations, and being able to accept who we are and being open to grow and become better leaders. Being able to accept especially our limitations and failures which is part of being human is a key element for growth. Being transparent about our strengths and limitations can be crucial for success and team building because it shows that we are human, open to feedback, and willing to be vulnerable and ready to improve. Integrity in leaders is shown when a leader is willing to put the ego on the line to create a stronger bond.
Leading with integrity of heart and skilful hand (Psalm 78:72) makes one a balanced and top-notch leader. The heart is the innermost part of our being and is the seat of our appetites, emotions, passions, values, and courage. In the negative sense, a heart can be evil, hard, proud, presumptuous, hypocritical, despising, wounded, bitter, resentful, and unforgiving. In the positive sense, a heart can be willing, stirred, wise, tender, faithful, steadfast, confident, merry, new, understanding, purposed, pondering, discerning, forgiving, open, obedient, pure and warm. Whatever one does with his or her heart affects the whole world, thus the heart is infectious. As leaders, our hearts must be whole, our desires must be pure, not looking after our benefits, but after the best interest of those we are called to lead. We must be people of intellectual, professional and ethical excellence. Leadership needs a sense of stewardship over the lives of those we lead. Further, it encompasses the elements of empathy, nurturing, listening, inclusivity, diversity, humility, transparency, gratitude, forgiveness, self-awareness, self-acceptance and openness to change and growth.
In 2019, Matthiew Daum came up with the phrase ‘generative listening’ and coined six principles that encompass it. I believe leading with integrity of heart and skilful hands one needs to possess prowess in generative listening as a key pillar in leadership especially when it comes to conducting meetings. More than deep, or active listening, generative listening enables a level of connection between the one who speaks and the one who listens that is truly generative. This interaction creates new possibilities for action that neither party had thought of or even expected before starting the conversation. The six principles are:
Slowing down and noticing more of what is present.
Listening with all my senses.
Listening to the words and images chosen.
Suspending judgment.
Noticing what I do not understand or what triggers questions for me, rather than what I do not like about what I hear.
Paying attention to what I feel as I listen to what is being said and why.
Leading with integrity of heart is closely connected to servant and transformational leadership styles. What is key to servant leadership is being ethical and caring about people.. And that their needs and well-being are highly considered. It is a genuine sense of calling to be just and trusted stewards and to inspire in others the full potential of their abilities. Servant leaders believe that it is their duty to see to the overall mental and spiritual well-being of those with whom they associate. When people are led from the heart through a servant leadership approach, the individual performs at a higher level because the leader treats him or her with dignity and respect. The leader has taken the time to build trusted relationships with employees, continually communicating the meaning and purpose of what the organization does (Dinibutun, 2020). Transformational leaders tend to be emotionally intelligent, energetic, and passionate. They are not only committed to helping the organization achieve its goals, but also to helping group members fulfil their potential (Montano et al., 2023).
Servant and transformational leaders are committed to personal and professional growth for themselves and the people they lead. Investing in the personal and professional growth of leaders and those they lead is vital and has an impact on the organization’s growth and the mental well-being of employees. . Leadership style plays a crucial role in the mental health of employees within an organization. Research has shown that the way leaders interact with and support their staff significantly affects their well-being. For instance, transformational leadership tends to have a positive impact, while destructive leadership can have a negative effect on employee’s mental health (Montano et al., 2023).
To grow in leading with integrity of heart and skilful hands calls for self-reflection, balance (seeing situations from multiple perspectives and different viewpoints to gain a better understanding), true self-confidence, genuine humility, having a mentor, being open to feedback, and investing in personal and professional development. The pro-active mentoring of up-and-coming leaders by partnering them with more senior leaders who have proven their integrity, ethical qualities, and skills, is another useful investment in leading with integrity.
I believe that when leaders lead with integrity of heart and skilful skills, it influences others to follow suit and hence realization of a high standard of humanization of life.
References
Dinibutun, S. R. (2020). Leadership: A comprehensive review of literature, research and theoretical framework. Journal of Economics and Business, 3, 44 – 64. ISSN 2615-3726. DOI: 10.31014/aior.1992.03.01.177. The online version of this article can be found at: https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/
Montano, D., Schleu, J. E., & Hüffmeier, J. (2023). A meta-analysis of the relative contribution of leadership styles to followers’ mntal health. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 30, 90 –107. https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518221114854
Moorman, R. H., Darnold, T. C., Priesemuth, M., & Dunn, C. P. (2012). Toward the measurement of perceived leader integrity: Introducing a multidimensional approach. Journal of Change Management, 12, 383 – 398.
Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2015). The influence of integrity and ethical leadership on trust in the leader. Management Dynamics: Journal of the Southern African Institute for Management Scientists, 24, 2-10.
Carvajal, A. L., Sanchez, R. D., & Amihan, S. R. (2023). Probing the seven qualities of true-leadership: A qualitative investigation of selected experienced and successful leaders in various industries. International Journal of Open-access, Interdisciplinary and New Educational Discoveries of ETCOR Educational Research Center (iJOINED ETCOR), 2, 898-912.
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