the five leadership traits

8/6/2019 The Five Leadership Traits

1/28

The five leadership traits/leadership qualities are:

1.Honest

2.F

orward-Looking3.Competent4.Inspiring5.IntelligentThese five qualities come from Kouzes and Posners researchinto leadership that was done for the bookThe LeadershipChallenge.Your skill at exhibiting these five leadership qualities is strongly

correlated with peoples desire to follow your lead. Exhibitingthese traits will inspire confidence in your leadership. Notexhibiting these traits or exhibiting the opposite of these traitswill decrease your leadership influence with those around you.

It is important to exhibit, model and display these traits. Simplypossessing each trait is not enough; you have to display it in a

way that people notice. People want to see that you activelydemonstrate these leadership qualities and will not just assumethat you have them. It isnt enough to just be neutral. Forexample, just because you are not dishonest will not causepeople to recognize that you are honest. Just avoiding displaysof incompetence wont inspire the same confidence as trulydisplaying competence.

The focus of each of these five traits needs to be on what peoplesee you donot just the things they dont see you do. Beinghonest isnt a matter of not lyingit is taking the extra effort todisplay honesty.


2/28

Honesty as a Leadership Quality

People want to follow an honest leader. Years ago, manyemployees started out by assuming that their leadership was

honest simply because the authority of their position. Withmodern scandals, this is no longer true.

When you start a leadership position, you need to assume thatpeople will think you are a little dishonest. In order to be seen asan honest individual, you will have to go out of your way todisplay honesty. People will not assume you are honest simplybecause you have never been caught lying.

One of the most frequent places where leaders miss anopportunity to display honesty is in handling mistakes. Much ofa leaders job is to try new things and refine the ideas that dontwork. However, many leaders want to avoid failure to the extentthat they dont admit when something did not work.

There was a medium size organization that was attempting tomove to a less centralized structure. Instead of one locationserving an entire city, they wanted to put smaller officesthroughout the entire metro area. At the same time, they wereplanning an expansion for headquarters to accommodate morecustomers at the main site. The smaller remote offices washeralded as a way to reach more customers at a lower cost and

cover more demographic areas.

After spending a considerable amount of money on a satellitelocation, it became clear that the cost structure would notsupport a separate smaller office. As the construction completedon the expanded headquarters building, the smaller office was


3/28

closed. This was good decision making. The smaller officesseemed like a good idea, but when the advantages didntmaterialize (due to poor management or incorrect assumptions)

it made sense to abandon the model. This was a chance for theleadership to display honesty with the employees, be candidabout why things didnt work out as expected, learn from themistakes an move on.

Unfortunately in this situation the leadership told employees thatthey had planned on closing the satellite location all along and itwas just a temporary measure until construction was completed

on the larger headquarters building. While this wasntnecessarily true, it didnt quite cross over into the area of lying.Within a few months the situation was mostly forgotten andeveryone moved on. Few of the employees felt that leadershipwas being dishonest. However, they had passed up a marvelousopportunity to display the trait of honesty in admitting amistake.

Opportunities to display honesty on a large scale may nothappen every day. As a leader, showing people that you arehonest even when it means admitting to a mistake, displays akey trait that people are looking for in their leaders. Bydemonstrating honesty with yourself, with your organization andwith outside organizations, you will increase your leadershipinfluence. People will trust someone who actively displays

honestynot just as an honest individual, but as someone who isworth following.

Forward-Looking as a Leadership Trait


4/28

The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go fromwhere you are now. While you may know where you want to go,people wont see that unless you actively communicate it with

them. Remember, these traits arent just things you need to have,they are things you need to actively display to those around you.

When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, thatleader is usually suffering from one of two possible problems:

1.The leader doesnt have a forward-looking vision.2.The leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with

others.When a leader doesnt have a vision for the future, it usuallybecause they are spending so much time on today, that theyhavent really thought about tomorrow. On a very simplisticlevel this can be solved simply by setting aside some time forplanning, strategizing and thinking about the future.

Many times when a leader has no time to think and plan for thefuture, it is because they are doing a poor job of leading in thepresent. They have created an organization and systems that relytoo much on the leader for input at every stage.

Some leaders have a clear vision, but dont wish to share it withothers. Most of the time they are concerned that they will losecredibility if they share a vision of the future that doesnt come

about. This is a legitimate concern. However, people need toknow that a leader has a strong vision for the future and a strongplan for going forward. Leaders run into trouble sharing theirvision of the future when they start making promises toindividuals. This goes back to the trait of honesty. If a leader


5/28

tells someone that next year Im going to make you manager ofyour own division, that may be a promise they cant keep. Theleader is probably basing this promotion on the organization

meeting financial goals, but the individual will only hear thepersonal promise.

An organization I was working with was floundering. It seemedlike everyone had a different idea about what they were trying toachieve. Each department head was headed in a differentdirection and there was very little synergy as small fiefdoms andinternal politics took their toll.

Eventually a consulting firm was called in to help fix theproblem. They analyzed the situation, talked to customers,talked to employees and set up a meeting with the CEO. Theywere going to ask him about his vision for the future. Theemployees were excited that finally there would be a reportstating the direction for the organization.

After the meeting, the consultants came out shaking their heads.The employees asked how the important question had gone towhich the consultants replied, we asked him, but you arentgoing to like the answer. The CEO had told the consultant that,while he had a vision and plan for the future, he wasnt going toshare it with anyone because he didnt want there to be anydisappointment if the goals were not reached.

Leaders can communicate their goals and vision for the futurewithout making promises that they may not be able to keep. If aleader needs to make a promise to an individual, it should betied to certain measurable objectives being met. The CEO in theexample didnt realize how much damage he was doing by not


6/28

demonstrating the trait of being forward-looking bycommunicating his vision with the organization.

The CEO was forward-looking. He had a plan and a vision andhe spent a lot of time thinking about where the organization washeaded. However, his fear of communicating these things to therest of the organization hampered his leadership potential.

Competency as a Leadership Quality

People want to follow someone who is competent. This doesnt

mean a leader needs to be the foremost expert on every area ofthe entire organization, but they need to be able to demonstratecompetency.

For a leader to demonstrate that they are competent, it isntenough to just avoid displaying incompetency. Some people willassume you are competent because of your leadership position,but most will have to see demonstrations before deciding that

you are competent.

When people under your leadership look at some action youhave taken and think, that just goes to show why he is the onein charge, you are demonstrating competency. If thesemoments are infrequent, it is likely that some demonstrations ofcompetency will help boost your leadership influence.

Like the other traits, it isnt enough for a leader to be competent.They must demonstrate competency in a way that people notice.This can be a delicate balance. There is a danger of drawing toomuch attention to yourself in a way that makes the leader seem


7/28

arrogant. Another potential danger is that of minimizing otherscontributions and appearing to take credit for the work of others.

As a leader, one of the safest ways to toot you own hornwithout blowing it, is to celebrate and bring attention to teamachievements. In this way you indirectly point out yourcompetency as a leader. For example: Last year I set a goal ofreaching $12 million in sales and, thanks to everyones hardword, as of today, we have reached $13.5 million.

Inspiration as a Leadership Trait

People want to be inspired. In fact, there is a whole class ofpeople who will follow an inspiring leadereven when the leaderhas no other qualities. If you have developed the other traits inthis article, being inspiring is usually just a matter ofcommunicating clearly and with passion. Being inspiring meanstelling people how your organization is going to change theworld.

A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs stole the CEOfrom Pepsi by asking him, Do you want to sell sugar water forthe rest of your life, or do you want to change the world? Beinginspiring means showing people the big picture and helpingthem see beyond a narrow focus and understand how their partfits into the big picture.

One technique to develop your ability to inspire is telling stories.Stories can be examples from your customers, fictitiousexamples from your customers, or even historical fables andmyths. Stories can help you vividly illustrate what you are tryingto communicate. Stories that communicate on an emotional level


8/28

help communicate deeper than words and leave an imprint muchstronger than anything you can achieve through a simple statingof the facts.

Learning to be inspiring is not easyparticularly for individualslacking in charisma. It can be learned. Take note of people whoinspire you and analyze the way they communicate. Look forways to passionately express your vision. While there willalways be room for improvement, a small investment in effortand awareness will give you a significant improvement in thisleadership trait.

Intelligence as a Leadership Trait

Intelligence is something that can be difficult to develop. Theroad toward becoming more intelligent is difficult, long andcant be completed without investing considerable time.Developing intelligence is a lifestyle choice. Your collegegraduation was the beginning of your education, not the end. In

fact, much of what is taught in college functions merely as afoundational language for lifelong educational experiences.

To develop intelligence you need to commit to continuallearningboth formally and informally. With modern advancesin distance, education it is easy to take a class or two each yearfrom well respected professors in the evening at your computer.

Informally, you can develop a great deal of intelligence in anyfield simply by investing a reasonable amount of time to readingon a daily basis. The fact is that most people wont make aregular investment in their education. Spending 30 minutes of


9/28

focused reading every day will give you 182 hours of study timeeach year.

You can demonstrate your intelligence by gently leading peopletoward understandingeven when you know the answer. Yourfocus needs to be on helping others learnnot demonstratinghow smart you are. Arrogance will put you in a position wherepeople are secretly hopeful that youll make a mistake andappear foolish.

As unintuitive as it may seem, one of the best ways to exhibit

intelligence is by asking questions. Learning from the peopleyou lead by asking intelligent thoughtful questions will do moreto enhance your intelligence credibility than just about anything.Of course this means you need to be capable of askingintelligent questions.

Everyone considers themselves intelligent. If you ask them to

explain parts of their area of expertise and spend the time toreally understand (as demonstrated by asking questions), theiropinion of your intelligence will go up. After all, you now knowmore about what makes them so intelligent, so you must besmart as well. Your ability to demonstrate respect for theintellect of others will probably do more to influence theperception of your intellect than your actual intelligence.


10/28

Honest Leadership:

Good leaders are never afraid of communicating truth to theirpeople. Every time we stop shy of the truth we cheat ourselves

and, worst of all, we rob our people of opportunity and personal

growth.

We all need to be upfront and honest with our people about the

situation, the marketplace, the competition, resources and

performance. Its the best way to maximize the organization andthem.

Here are some random thoughts on why we must be honest:

It helps them grow. The best way to help an employee growis to tell them the truth. Holding back in a attempt to be kindwont help them isolate areas for improvement, recognize blind

spots or grow. And, as an aside, please dont wait for someannual review time to help them. Communicate honestly andcommunicate as frequently as possible.

It helps them solve problems. Most of the time the answersyou need to grow your business, get out of the hole or dosomething different are right there in your peoples heads. Bytelling them the truth about the situation youll tap into their

creativity and problem solving abilities. Telling them the truthwill unleash tremendous solutions.

It gets them aligned. Whether the news is good or badhaving your people aligned with your vision and the realitycreates tremendous team strength and synergy.


11/28

It gets the right team in place. As hard as it is, and Ivelearned this lesson, honest communication about performanceand other employee issues helps leaders to get the right team.

People who wont listen, will leave and people with a learningspirit will stay and be valuable team members.

In a time when the government circulates

disinformation to fight terrorism, and executives atEnron, Tyco, and Qwest manipulated their earningsreports for personal gain, its important to remindourselves of the value of honesty.

Honesty is truth and integrity. If you are honestyou avoid becoming mired in fraud, deceit, artifice,and deception.

Telling the truth is the right thing to do. Also,

sticking to the facts relieves us of the stress thatlies create. Honesty is a virtue, a signature trait ofour higher selves.

Its not clear whether todays atmosphere ofseeming disdain for honesty among business and

government leaders is driven by greed and cynicalgamesmanship or symptomatic of some deeperrent in the fabric of our society. What is clear,

though, is that honesty is the right path to take inour personal, political, and professional lives.

Conversations with executives from companiesthat receive high marks for leadership are


12/28

instructive. Consider their dos and donts forensuring integrity in dispensing information:

Dont intentionally mislead or misrepresent.Enough mis-communication will occur on its ownwithout your prompting.

Dont give a half-truth, fib, or allow a strategic

omission of information. Regardless of howcarefully you disguise the truth, someone will findout. It will be embarrassing at the very least.

Dont straddle the line, waltz around, or put aspin on it. Eventually someone will find out.

Do be precise, crisp, and then move on. Long-winded explanations get you in trouble. Like JohnWayne said, Dont complain, dont explain.

Do give the actual numbers. Say it like it is. That isgood enough.

Do understand that misunderstandings can occur.

When they do and they will clear them up. Youcan say: There may have been amisunderstanding, but what I mean to

communicate is . . . Take responsibility.

Do realize that one persons honesty is another

persons dishonesty. The fact is, we view thesame issue differently based on upbringing,culture, experience, and other factors. The


13/28

important thing is to state your understanding, askfor theirs, find the common points, and fix theones that need to be corrected.

Do bring uncomfortable issues out into the openand encourage others to do the same. A lot moreeffort is generally spent in covering it up thanbringing it out. For people you are associatedwith, its better to hear bad news from you than

to read it in the press.

Dont break promises or go back on your word.The key is to remember your commitment. Write itdown and do it.

Do remember that your distrust of others will oftenengender their distrust of you. Suspicion breedssuspicion. When misunderstandings occur, clear

things up right away; and expect to do that morethan once.

Do be honest with yourself. You cant be honestwith others unless you are able to deal with thetruth yourself.

Dont forget, even for a moment, that people go to

jail for dishonesty. Enough said.

Its easy to read this and say, Oh, yeah, I do thosethings.The real test, however, is to ask your

colleagues how they would rate your honesty.


14/28

You may well find, even as you strive to follow thislist, that you dont appear to others to be asforthright as you may think you do. Whats

important is that we all steer harder in thedirection of clear information and away from thetangled web of misinformation.

If you are honest in your business dealings, youadd value to your life and the world around you.

You count as one fewer deceptive player in thescheme of things and set yourself apart fromothers.

Its fundamental. Honesty is the best policy. Inbusiness, as in life, it is critical. Honesty will

enhance your leadership ability. Thats how you getahead, get promoted, and get rewarded.

Honesty is the greatest quality a leader can haveAs I grew up around my dad, one of the statements heemphasized time and time again was one that grandpa alwaystold him. He'd say, "As you go through life, maintain thequalities of honesty, good judgment and action." After being inbusiness for over 22 years, I understand this now more than everand believe the most important quality a leader can have is

honesty.Ask yourself these questions. Will your people follow you downany path you decide to take? If so, how do you know they willstay on the path behind you without you having to keep lookingback? It doesn't matter whether you are taking them in the right


15/28

or wrong direction as much as the fact that they believe that yourintentions are good. In fact, you won't always be going in theright direction, but if they trust you, they will follow you

anyway. That's why honesty is so important.When I was a child I would often get in trouble and try toexplain my way out of it. In doing so, I would tell dad what Iwas going to do to change. Knowing I may not be telling thetotal truth, dad would always say, "Don't tell me, show me."Man is that powerful! What dad was saying is that he'd bettersee it in my actions; he wasn't much convinced by what I said

for the sake of forgiveness. The only way he would accept thebehavior was if I displayed it in my everyday actions. Today,my employees look at me much the same way as dad did. I haveto "walk the walk". Employees are constantly observing theactions of their leaders to see if they are being totally honestwith them.

When is a lie small enough that it doesn't make a difference?

Never! Here is an example of how quickly mistrust can slip intoyour company and eat at its core. You are setting in the officeand your assistant tells you that someone you don't want to talkto is on the phone. You say, "Just tell him I am not here". Whatkind of a message does this send to your assistant? If we look atthis from his point of view, we are telling him it's ok to lie. Isn'tthis giving him permission to show up late the next morning andrecord the time as though he was there? If you believe there is a

difference between these two examples, think a little harder. Ibet your followers are aware of it and it lessens the respect theyhave for you as a leader. Why couldn't you just tell yourassistant that you are busy and can't talk right now? Show themthe proper behavior by being honest. Eventually, a leader will


16/28

have to pay for mistakes (big mistakes) like teaching his peoplethat it is alright to be less than totally honest. Don't tell them tobe honest and then forget to look in the mirror.

In a time when the government circulates disinformationto fight terrorism, and executives at Enron, Tyco, andQwest manipulated their earnings reports for personalgain, its important to remind ourselves of the value ofhonesty.

Honesty is truth and integrity. If you are honest you avoidbecoming mired in fraud, deceit, artifice, and deception.

Telling the truth is the right thing to do. Also, sticking tothe facts relieves us of the stress that lies create. Honesty isa virtue, a signature trait of our higher selves.

Its not clear whether todays atmosphere of seemingdisdain for honesty among business and governmentleaders is driven by greed and cynical gamesmanship orsymptomatic of some deeper rent in the fabric of oursociety. What is clear, though, is that honesty is the rightpath to take in our personal, political, and professionallives.

Conversations with executives from companies thatreceive high marks for leadership are instructive. Consider

their dos and donts for ensuring integrity in dispensinginformation:

Dont intentionally mislead or misrepresent. Enough mis-communication will occur on its own without yourprompting.


17/28

Dont give a half-truth, fib, or allow a strategic omissionof information. Regardless of how carefully you disguisethe truth, someone will find out. It will be embarrassing at

the very least.Dont straddle the line, waltz around, or put a spin onit. Eventually someone will find out.

Do be precise, crisp, and then move on. Long-windedexplanations get you in trouble. Like John Wayne said,Dont complain, dont explain.

Do give the actual numbers. Say it like it is. That is goodenough.

Do understand that misunderstandings can occur. Whenthey doand they willclear them up. You can say: Theremay have been a misunderstanding, but what I mean tocommunicate is . . . Take responsibility.

Do realize that one persons honesty is another personsdishonesty. The fact is, we view the same issue differentlybased on upbringing, culture, experience, and otherfactors. The important thing is to state yourunderstanding, ask for theirs, find the common points,and fix the ones that need to be corrected.

Do bring uncomfortable issues out into the open and

encourage others to do the same. A lot more effort isgenerally spent in covering it up than bringing it out.For people you are associated with, its better to hear badnews from you than to read it in the press.


18/28

Dont break promises or go back on your word. The key isto remember your commitment. Write it down and do it.

Do remember that your distrust of others will often

engender their distrust of you. Suspicion breedssuspicion. When misunderstandings occur, clear things upright away; and expect to do that more than once.

Do be honest with yourself. You cant be honest withothers unless you are able to deal with the truth yourself.

Dont forget, even for a moment, that people go to jail for

dishonesty. Enough said.

Its easy to read this and say, Oh, yeah, I do those things.The real test, however, is to ask your colleagues how theywould rate your honesty.

You may well find, even as you strive to follow this list,that you dont appear to others to be as forthright as you

may think you do. Whats important is that we all steerharder in the direction of clear information and away fromthe tangled web of misinformation.

If you are honest in your business dealings, you add valueto your life and the world around you. You count as onefewer deceptive player in the scheme of things and setyourself apart from others.

Its fundamental. Honesty is the best policy. In business,as in life, it is critical. Honesty will enhance yourleadership ability. Thats how you get ahead, get promoted,and get rewarded.


19/28

According to a study by Fred Luthans at the University ofNebraska, managers tend to engage in four categories ofbehaviors. He described the four categories as follows:

1. Communication: exchanging information, paper workand meetings.

2. Traditional management duties: planning, decisionmaking and controlling.

3. Human resource management: motivating,disciplining, managing conflict, staffing and trainingand developing.

4. Networking: Interacting with outsiders, socializing,gossiping, discussing others, joking and general chitchat.

Luthans divided the managers into two groups: those whowere effective and those who were successful. He definedas effective those managers who were able to motivate

people to achieve the goals of their work unit with aminimum of turnover, cost or human-resource problemsHe defined as successful those managers who moved upfast in the organization by receiving promotions.


20/28

Luthans found that most effective managers spent most oftheir time involved in communication and human resourcemanagement. He found that most successful managers

spent most of their time networking. Only ten percent ofthe study group met the criteria for both effective andsuccessful managers. They seemed to be able to balanceall four categories evenly.

Distressing News:

For those who enjoy engaging in the technical/scientific

aspects of the work at hand, the implications of this study

can be distressing. It almost says that if you want to get

ahead, you should spend all your time "kissing-up" to the

important people outside your area of responsibility.I beg to differ. In any organization that is based ontechnology and performance (and what organization isn'tthese days?), it is hard to imagine that getting ahead is

simply a matter of kissing the right posterior. In mostorganizations, if you don't know your stuff, people realize itquite quickly, so technical expertise is, and always will, beimportant.

That doesn't mean, however, that a leader can focusexclusively on the technical/production side of theequation, and expect stellar results from his or her team.

As Luthan's study indicated, the effective managers spentmost of their time involved in communications and humanresource management. It does mean, however, thatspending time and energy nurturing relationships withteam members will raise the odds that they will produce


21/28

for you. It also means that nurturing relationships with keyplayers outside your team can help your team to succeedand it doesn't hurt your career either.

Questions to ask yourself:

How much time are you spending in each of the four areas- communication, traditional management duties, humanresource management and networking?

In which areas are you more proficient?

In which areas should you focus more?

Suggestions to try:

If you are interested in improving the relationship side ofyour leadership practice, here are some ideas:

y Make it a personal goal to get to know all the people

on your team on a personal basis. Do you know eachteam member's:

o Favorite parts of the jobo Least favorite parts of the jobo Pet peeves about worko Goals and aspirationso Personal interests outside of work

y Make sure the expectations you have of each teammember match his or her perception of what isexpected and visa versa. To do this, try the followingexercise:

1. List five major expectations you have of eachteam member.


22/28

2. List five major expectations you think each teammember has of you.

3. Now ask each team member to do the same

about you. In other words, have them list fiveexpectations they have of you and fiveexpectations they think you have of them.

4. Now sit down with each team memberindividually and compare the lists. Do they matchexactly? If not, why not? Here is the spring boardfor what can be a healthy discussion to makesure you and your team are on track with one

another.Make it a personal goal to get to know people outside

your team who can be a valuable resource for your team.For example, do you know people in purchasing, finance,human resources or quality control? When the chips aredown, these resources may be in a position to providehelp faster and better if you have an on-going, positive

relationship with them. You might want to set a target ofhaving lunch once per week with one of these folks.

Volunteer to work special committees. For example,would you want to work on a task force who's mandate isto re-design a policy and procedure manual? Soundsboring, doesn't it? But think about the opportunity you'dhave to make improvements in the organization and tolearn more about the organization. And the visibility neverhurts, assuming you do a good job.

Volunteer for tough assignments.Give lots of credit to those you work with. Bear

Bryant, the great football coach, once said that the secretto his success is that he always gave credit to his players


23/28

when they won and was willing to take the heat himselfwhen they lost.

Offer to provide training to other departments. This

advertises what you and your team do and makes it easierfor other departments to work with you.Create opportunities for your team members to shine

by having them provide that training.Offer to be a technical resource for non-technical

departments like marketing, human resources andaccounting.

Celebrate someone's success every day. Look for

opportunities to recognize achievement Catch someonedoing something right. Remember, each success yourteam members achieve reflects on you as their leader.

Most definitions of workplace honesty speak aboutrefraining from lying, upholding high ethical standardsand high levels of integrity. What this means in practiceis difficult to define. Every situation is different. A personwho is completely honest about everything may not be aneffective worker or a good team player.

Buzzwords like integrity and business ethics are easilytossed around but how many understand them?

Integrity is a broader concept than honesty.

Someone with integrity usually means someone who acts

in accordance with personal beliefs. However, in terms ofthis definition, Hitler had integrity.

Obviously the definition needs to include acting inaccordance with universal standards of right and wrong. Itinvolves concepts of consistency, reliability and fairness.Fairness in doing do what is best for all involved.


24/28

Ethics is concerned with what is good or right in any socialsituation. It involves making a moral choice for the good ofall parties involved, not just oneself.

When ethics is applied to business we consider theimplications of economic activity on the interests of allwho are part of such activity. (D Rossouw)

It can be difficult to be ethical when there is no perceivedpersonal gain or when the organisation has questionableethics.

High ethical standards - making action choices based on

moral principles or values. What is the most ethical choicewhen you know a good friend is stealing from the cashbox? Which do you choose loyalty to the friend or theorganisation?

Business ethics is now a very popular buzzword.

One of the most significant debates in business ethicsconcerns when and under what circumstances individuals

have an obligation to be honest.For example, when is concealing information an unethicalchoice? Do you tell your employer you intend emigratingin a years time if you know this will mean you wont getthe promotion you deserve?

Business ethics becomes even more complex when multi-cultural clashes in values are involved. Deon Rossouw,President of the Business Ethics Network of Africa (BEN-Africa) refers to these clashes in his book Business Ethicsin Africa:

"In our part of the world business ethics is still oftenregarded as a contradiction in terms. There is plenty ofinformation about the extent of unethical behaviour in


25/28

business in Africa. Surveys and studies done by Africanand international researchers tell tales of endemiccorruption on our continent.

"For example, Deloitte and Touche conducted a survey onfraud in 1999 in seventeen African countries. In everycountry, with the exception of Botswana, fraud was on theincrease. The kinds of fraud that were identified includedforging bank documents, tax evasion, false insuranceclaims, and electronic funds transfer fraud."

The indisputable fact is that any social structure built ondishonesty is on shaky ground. To quote Rossouw again:because business is social in nature, concern for othersinterests as well as your own is essential if you want to runa sustainable business. In the final analysis no one wantsto play any game with a cheater.

Trust: Ultimately honesty builds trust.

Trust can be defined as an optimistic attitude displayedby a person in taking the risk of relying on another personto attain their goal. (Rossouw pg. 148) The considerationof another persons interests is a core element of ethicalbehaviour.

So what is workplace honesty?

Most organisations have some kind of policy or code ofconduct that defines behaviours that are acceptable andunacceptable.

Honest behaviour in the workplace means the extent towhich individuals and groups in organisations abide byconsistent and rational ethical standards.

These standards could include:


26/28

Not taking money or stock from the company Not spending an excessive amount of work time onpersonal phone calls

Not taking excessive leave of absence from workOther positive standards could include

Turning in work of a consistently high standard Behaving in a professional manner with clients andfellow-staff members preferably no backbiting, nosuggestive comments or rude jokes etc.

Defining workplace dishonesty

Dishonesty in the workplace includes theft, fraud, abuse ofcompany time and/or property and excessive sick leaveor absence from work.

Research suggests that dishonesty in the workplace is rife.The difficulty is to clarify how rife. One reason why there issuch widespread disagreement about the extent ofemployee theft is that very different definitions of theft are

used.Some definitions include all forms of theft, even takinghome a pencil. Others restrict themselves to theft ofexpensive property or substantial amounts of cash. Cantheft be quantified? Can a value be placed on it?

Statistics relating to employee theft

Employee theft is one of the primary reasons of many

small business failures 10 30% of all bankruptcies are due to employee theft Employee theft is rising by 15% per year Over 40% of retail and manufacturing businesses admitto employee theft


27/28

Employee theft is higher in industries in which there arefrequent opportunities or strong inducements to steal,such as retail sales, medicine (especially theft of drugs)

and banking.Factors influencing dishonesty

There is an ongoing debate about which factors cause orinfluence dishonest behaviour. One school of thoughtclaims the person decides whether he or she will bedishonest.

In other words, personality, background, values, culture

and norms of behaviour of the individual will play a role.Another school of thought, suggested by KarlMarx, insistsit is the situation that is primarily responsible. Thisincludes working conditions, type of management, salarylevels, job satisfaction and recognition.

I believe both have a part to play. In other words, honestyor dishonesty is dependent on the person and the

situation. What do you think?


28/28

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of

wisdom

I have no fear that the result of ourexperiment will be that men may be trusted

to govern themselves without a master.

Honesty is the best policy

the five leadership traits

Documents