Integrity

What qualities and talents does the next county administrator need to have in order to be successful?

One of the questions county commissioners asked candidates during our September 13, 2013 interview for Cook County’s first administrator was, “A county administrator’s leadership style is essential to organizational success. What do you consider to be three important leadership qualities you would bring to the county?”

As might be expected, due to the natural responses that are hardwired into us, each of us–much like commissioners– would tangle over what sorts of qualities we’d look for in a prospective administrator.

Those who have ventured into similar hiring processes have identified the importance of selecting someone who would create a more harmonious county government, someone with strong, disciplined, fiscal and analytical thinking skills and even stronger people management skills.

In a conversation regarding the hiring of a county administrator, back in May 2013 with Toni Smith, AMC’s education director, she suggested I talk with the board chair at Nobles County, located in southern Minnesota. Toni indicated, “They went through a very difficult time. Their staff was so beaten down from their experience with a previous administrator they were scared to bring another administrator in.”

I would suggest our county is no less “self-embroiled.”

Officials in Loudoun County, Virginia, during their search for a county administrator, expressed they wanted to hear from county residents; acknowledging the general public could give them insights into the qualities desired in the county’s next administrator.

“I think this is an opportunity for people to weigh in, to give their thoughts and opinions on what they think lies ahead and what kind of county administrator we need,” said board vice chairman Susan Klimek

Buckley.

Loudoun County, like Cook County, hired a consulting firm to help with their search. Chuck

Rohre, senior vice president with the Waters

Consulting Group, a

Springsted company, advised, “The public input session is a key first step,” underscoring,

“that’s the foundation for the whole process. It will help county officials develop a profile of the ideal candidate.”

So what is the single most important trait we should be looking for?

Tatiana Compton, a freelance journalist in both the U.K. and U.S. writes in an article for Ivy Exec (an organization that provides career resources to help executives advance their careers), “People willingly follow a leader who is consistent, moral and trustworthy.”

Abraham Lincoln (perhaps the best known U.S. president for having integrity) expressed: “Great leadership is a product of great character. And that is why character matters. Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing.”

Character and integrity are one and the same. Compton maintains, “Integrity is critical for building trust–people will not follow someone they do not trust and without [trust] which problems will inevitably arise.”

Granted employees will begrudgingly submit to “authority,” for fear of losing their livelihood; however, on a daily basis, bemoan the fact there exists no integrity in those who “hold sway over them.”

In a recent study published by Harvard Business Review, Dr. Sunnie Giles, creator of Quantum Leadership Group, a firm that’s pioneered a groundbreaking approach to leadership development, found the majority of 195 leaders across 15 countries interviewed agreed “high ethical and moral standards” was the most important leadership quality out of 74 leadership competencies (67 percent of those interviewed selected it as one of their top 15).

Regrettably “high ethical and moral standards” has become extraneous … adrift in our pervasively permissive culture that encourages us to “do as we please” …because we can.

Giles suggests, “A leader with high ethical standards conveys a commitment to fairness, instilling confidence that both they and their employees will honor the rules of the game. Similarly, when leaders clearly communicate their expectations, they avoid blindsiding people and ensure that everyone is on the same page. In a safe environment employees can relax, invoking the brain’s higher capacity for social engagement, innovation, creativity, and ambition.

Giles emphasizes, “From a neuroscience perspective, making sure that people feel safe on a deep level should be job number 1 for leaders.”

“When leaders show a commitment to our growth, employees are motivated to reciprocate, expressing their gratitude or loyalty by going the extra mile. While managing through fear generates stress, which impairs higher brain function, the quality of work is vastly different [than] when we are compelled by appreciation.

“The leader’s role must change with changing times. In today’s complex business environment where things are so unpredictable, vision, charisma, command and control are an obsolete leadership model.” (I suggest you reread that sentence again! “All that glitters … is not gold!”)

Leaders must strive to make people feel safe on a deeper level so they can be their most productive and creative self. As futurist Richard Buckminster Fuller once said, “Integrity is the essence of everything successful.”

“There are many things you can lack and still steer clear of danger. Integrity isn’t one of them.” –Enrique P. Fiallo author on purposeful leadership

Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics. At times the column is editorial in nature.