ABSTRACT
Possessing those traits and characteristics that others deem as reflective of high integrity is one of the most powerful forms of leadership influence. Such influence is based on trustworthiness and exists at four levels of organizational interaction: the personal level, the interpersonal level, the managerial level, and the organizational level. High integrity exists where moral laws first exist, where perceptions of right and wrong exist, and where leaders make what are perceived to be right choices. High-integrity leadership is important as it is so long enduring—for example, people refer to, quote, and cite favorably the examples of high-integrity leaders long since dead. It is also associated with particular leadership styles, most prominently those located at the more participative end of a top–down, authoritarian–participative continuum.
