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CHAPTER ONE

Honesty and

Integrity

‘‘An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.’’

—P. 24:

‘‘Judge me, O Lord, according to my... integrity.’’

—P. 7:

od’s honest truth. Actions that back up the words and words
that are congruent with the actions. People of integrity and
honesty. People we can trust. That’s what we look for in our
leaders.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner, one of the best-known teams of
management experts in the United States and authors ofThe Leadership
Challenge, performed a survey of several thousand people around the
world and several hundred case studies. They found that honesty was
the most frequently cited trait of a good leader, so frequently cited that
they wrote a separate volume about it, calledCredibility: How Leaders
Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.
It doesn’t matter how noble or worthwhile your cause; if you haven’t
earned people’s trust by constantly keeping your word and being true

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