Importance of Personal Integrity

In job postings you will see the list of skills and background required. However, you will also see scant attention paid to the quality of the person. Dr. Raymond Comeau advises us to develop both parts of ourselves, our professional and personal sides. He insists that there are no shortcuts to personal and professional success. It requires planning, effort, focus, dedication, and above all integrity. It is personal integrity that cements all those elements together. You can be highly gifted and intelligent. But, without a strong moral core, all that is moot. When ambition and greed rule, disaster is sure to ensue. Someone without strong personal integrity is like a ship without a rudder. That person will drift with whatever tide, current, or wind comes their way. Not only will they never reach port but they will also be a menace to anyone on their path.

Read more of Dr. Comeau’s thoughts on this matter at http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/Personal-Integrity.html.

Bridging the Leadership Gap

Many companies give titles that contain the words leader, manager, and administrator, thereby confusing those terms. Often in my career I have seen organizations water down those terms to the point where "boss" is the only definition one could apply.

Brad Smith draws a clear differentiation between leaders and managers, and corrects their misdefinition. He says that leadership is not management; it is human energy, stimulation, and ignition. Management is not leadership; it is human energy structured for accomplishment. However, leadership without management is ineffective and management without leadership is lifeless and ordinary. It takes both to reach the level of effective accomplishment we expect and demand today. You can think of leadership as a pump for energy from the individual employees into an organization. Management in this analogy would then be the plumbing to direct and focus that energy for task completion. It takes both energy and task completion for any company to be effective. It takes deep insight, vision, and synchronization to build a company that is great.

See more of Brad's thoughts at http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/Leadership-Gap.html.